Max's Dose Of Frock Therapy

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday December 7, 2006

Stephen Lacey

"NO, it isn't the first time I've worn women's clothing," sighs actor Max Gillies, referring to his latest role as a pantomime dame in Babes in the Wood. "I've cross-dressed a number of times and people are starting to ask me about it, more and more often, which is a bit of a shock, because it's not something I'm even conscious of. However, it hasn't spilled over into my private life, so I don't know how I'll be received in Sydney."

Gillies chuckles at his little jibe at Sydney's expense. The Melbourne political satirist, stage and television actor has been chuckling a lot lately, especially after the recent Melbourne success of the Malthouse Theatre production of Babes in the Wood.

"This is one of the most enjoyable things I've had the pleasure to be involved in for 30 years," Gillies says. "It takes me back to the sort of theatre we used to do with the Pram Factory in Melbourne, back in the 1970s."

Gillies is best known in mainstream Australia for his television satire The Gillies Report (1984-85), especially his spot-on lampooning of Bob Hawke.

"Ahhhh, I'm afraid there's not much call to be Bob any more," Gillies croaks, tugging on his ear.

But it's his role as the all-singing, all-dancing Aunt Avaricia that really appeals to the Gillies sense of humour.

Written several years ago by Tom Wright, the artistic associate at the Sydney Theatre Company, and directed by Michael Kantor, Babes in the Wood is a cross between traditional pantomime, French absurdist theatre and The Goon Show.

"It's certainly reminiscent of Spike Milligan," Gillies agrees. "One of my favourite lines is where a character comes into a dark room and says, 'We need a lantern - look, here's a lantern!' That's how this particular piece of theatre works. It changes reality."

Which is why explaining the plot is a little redundant. Suffice to say it is set on the goldfields of a pseudo-colonial Australia and features a psychopathic wallaby (Julie Forsyth) and a stupid emu (Francis Greenslade).

However, beneath the element of the absurd, it's impossible to miss the cutting, albeit humorous, comment on 21st-century Australia. In this respect, the babes in the wood are not only an obvious reference to the children overboard affair, but to a nation that has lost its way.

"I think the country's in the worst shape it's been in my entire life and I can remember the '50s and the late '40s," Gillies admits. "We thought those were bad times, but today makes the days of Menzies look like a golden era of a genuinely communal society."

But surely people voted for Howard, Max? "You're right, in a democracy you can't blame the leaders, except to the extent that they are quite happy to lead from behind and incite the worst in people. That's the cheap and easy way to lead. Really, my complaint with the leadership is not that they've turned us greedy - I mean, we're all a bit greedy these days - but I do blame them for pandering to it."

Babes in the Wood opens at the Opera House Playhouse tonight and runs until December 23.

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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