Revue’d: Law Law Land

As a revue-virgin, I was slightly nervous that the 2017 Law Revue, Law Law Land, might not be the right fit for me (especially since Legally Blonde is the extent of my legal literacy). As it turns out, the sketch format suited my utterly limited attention span quite well, and the content is relatable, even to us plebs outside the law department.

The night bounced into action with a very special, “Trumpian” rendition of the ‘Cell Block Tango’, and quickly got me in the mood for more singing/dancing/poking fun at politicians. Indeed, there was a new pollie or two to mock every five minutes, and I must give the writers credit for keeping the gags timely with current events.

But it wasn’t all about Pauline Hanson impressions, and European accents. A simple, but very witty CIA sketch about “bunny ears” was the first to actually make LOL in the literal sense. Whilst a familiar scene from within the law library almost had me screaming out loud with frustration. Above all, the musical parody numbers were a highlight for me (nothing gets me going like synchronised dancing), especially the battle between Turnbull and Shorten that closed the first half on a (high).

The second half took a turn away from the political and into the risqué department, with some soft porn, the infamous nude skit, and a childhood shattering song about the G-Spot. Again, it was another parody song that tickled my fancy most. Never before has legal jargon sounded as beautiful as it did when the ladies of the cast joined together for a take on ‘Colours of the Wind’ that had the audience walking the footsteps of a lawyer.

However, nobody’s perfect – not even our budding lawyers. There were a few one-liners lost on the audience, as well as some clunky transitions that made a few punchlines more awkward than they needed to be. And although the show was consistently energetic and comical, the gags began to feel repetitive and a little bit blasé toward the end. It’s not that any of the content was bad, per se, there was just too much of it – ‘30-minutes-overtime’ too much, to be exact. I know I sound like every teacher you’ve ever had, but I would have preferred quality over quantity. I simply lost interest toward the end and wasn’t paying adequate enough attention to the pieces to truly appreciate them. This is something that makes me really sad, because I know how much effort and spare time has been put into the show by students who don’t really have that much spare time in the first place.

Overall, I’m glad to have lost my revue-virginity to Law Law Land. The show was full of enthusiasm and pizazz from the cast who are sure to make you giggle, or even snort like one lady behind me. Hopefully the cast and crew can iron out any little niggles to keep the show tight and on time, in order to maintain their audience’s undivided attention for the entire show.

Special commendations to the band whose Daria interlude was simply top-drawer. Also a massive shout-out to the directors Liz Jones and Diana Reid, and the producers Anna Della Marta and Hayden Tonazzi, who truly bought the deadened spirits of a bunch of law students back to life in some very creative ways. However, after all is said and sung, I think you’ll agree with me that the real MVP is Claude and that he definitely deserves his lifetime achievement award! If you want to know who he is, you’ll have to check out Law Law Land while it’s still on!

Tickets are still available for August 25 and 26 from Seymour Centre.