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Intimate revue.
Following the success of Yes Please!, producer William Orr again paired Gordon Chater and Jill Perryman to head the cast of his Phillip Street revue company. Including more than thirty songs, At it Again continued the company's tradition of satirising contemporary issues and people. As the programme notes suggest, 'no cow is too sacred, [and] no office too high to escape their darts of humour' (p.5). Headed by John McKellar, the writers poked fun at the Federal Government ('The Pirates of Canberra'), the Prince of Wales, Bobby Limb, bridge tolls, and the future of the Opera House. Gordon Chater's sketches were amongst the wittiest and sharpest, notably his migrant sketch 'New Boy' (written by McKellar) and 'Operation Pinprick'.
The program comprised:
Part 1:
- 'At it Again (company)
- 'Gentlemen of the Press' (Chater and Johnston)
- 'I was Beautiful' (Perryman)
- 'Suki Yaki (Chater)
- 'Chevron Minuet' (company)
- 'Taxi' (Johnston and Taylor)
- 'Vortex of Verbosity' (Farr)
- 'Operation Pinprick' (Chater)
- 'I Saw Him Today' (Perryman)
- 'Love is Where You Find it' (Chater, Perryman, Johnston, Taylor)
- 'Advance Australia Wise' (company)
- 'Common Market' (Taylor)
- 'Telephone' (Perryman)
- 'Come in and Browse' (Chater)
- 'Sydney on Sunday' (company)
- 'What to Wear when the Bomb Comes' (Farr)
- 'Pirates of Canberra; Or, The Mingkado' (company).
Part 2:
- 'And Again' (??) [sic]
- 'The New Boy' (Chater)
- 'Transmigration' (company)
- 'Watch this Space' (Taylor)
- 'A Night at the Opera House' (company)
- 'Bring Back the Lash' (Perryman)
- 'Scream of Steam' (Chater, Taylor, and Johnston)
- 'The First Twist' (company);
- 'Telephone' (Perryman)
- 'I Always Say Hello to a Flower' (Farr)
- 'Telephone' (Perryman)
- 'It Could be Yuri' (company)
- 'Telephone' (Perryman)
- 'Post Bag Rag' (Chater)
- 'Musical Message' (company)
Notes
-
Lyrics by John McKellar, Melvyn Morrow, Ray Taylor, Julian Moore, Clint Smith, Monty Norman.
Music by Dot Mendoza, James Wallett, Joan Page, David Heneker. Additional songs by Murray Grand (USA) included 'I was Beautiful', 'Not a Moment Too Soon', 'I Always Say Hello to a Flower', and 'Sodom and Gomorrah Twist'.
Production Details
-
1962: Phillip Theatre, Sydney, 28 March - 30 June.
- Producer William Orr; Stage Manager Guy Le Claire; Chorus Ronnie Hay; Costumes Peter Hurst; Design Robert Lloyd; Lighting Arno Leinas.
- Cast Gordon Chater, Jill Perryman, Kevan Johnston, Ray Taylor, Judi Farr.
- Musicians Dot Mendoza (piano), Ted Secombe (drums).