Scam! Everything has a price
Music and lyrics by Sean Peter
Book by Barry Lowe
Junction Theatre Company
Queen's Theatre, Playhouse Lane, Adelaide
Wednesday to Saturday, August 5 to 22
$18/12 concession
Review by Melanie Sjoberg
Corporate greed and political corruption are the central themes of this fast-paced, biting musical satire. Featuring video, TVS singing to each other, computer-generated graphics and some brilliant performances, it is constantly engaging.
A disused building occupied by a couple of homeless youth, a bunch of feral greenies who think trees have more value than people and a corporate tycoon who wants to develop a casino create the maze through which the politician wanders.
The drama acidly portrays business pulling the political strings and the harsh reality of private ownership of almost everything, including, ultimately, the police and security forces.
The homeless, on-the-streets atmosphere is cleverly constructed within the shell of an old theatre using scaffolding and mattresses.
The video and TVs provide a powerful reminder of how images are created by the corporate rich, as does the chorus line's change of costume. When they are carrying placards and garbed in hippy vibrancy, we believe they are ferals, but slipped into padded shoulder suits, the same people become convincing supporters of the party and the political process.
Director Geff Crowhurst says the production was created to "give artists and the broader community the chance to participate ... in the public debate about things that matter to our society". Scam! pulls that off. Get along to see it.