The Gospel According to Paul: The Second Coming

The Gospel According to Paul: The Second Coming is coming to the Civic Theatre in Newcastle on Wednesday 23 September. It's a 90-minute comedy, and the age recommendation is 15+, so it's one for the adults rather than a family outing.

The show brings back the 'sermon on the mount' with Jonathan Biggins taking centre stage. He's a co-creator and star of The Wharf Revue and one of Australia's best-known comic actors, and here he transforms into Paul Keating — the former Prime Minister, described as a visionary, a reformer, and a rabble-rouser. If you're familiar with Keating's public persona, you'll have a good idea of the kind of character Biggins is stepping into: the sharp tongue, the confidence, and the particular way of holding court.

It's a one-man show, so the whole thing rests on Biggins' performance. He's spent much of his career in revue and sketch comedy, and The Wharf Revue is a long-running institution in Australian satire, so he's well-versed in the kind of political skewing this draws on. The 'sermon on the mount' framing suggests a bit of a performance piece — Keating as the preacher, the audience as the congregation — which fits the character's penchant for lecturing the nation.

It's a single night at the Civic Theatre, so if you want to catch it, you'll need to clear your calendar for that Wednesday. The show runs for 90 minutes, and with the 15+ rating, it's geared towards an older crowd. You can find more details and book your tickets through the Civic Theatre Newcastle website.