Melbourne Reviews

Tall and slender, with longish wavy brown hair and a greying beard Rod Quantock has been bringing humour into the lives of Melburnians in particular for some decades. Maybe you've seen him on telly as the Captain Snooze man complete with fetching night cap; or maybe, prior to that, you followed him, rubber chicken held defiantly aloft, on a crazy journey round the streets of Melbourne. Maybe, just maybe, even further in the past, you, along with other Young Liberals, yes young liberals, enjoyed a party at the Comedy Cafe! Quantock's ardent followers may well be on the positive side of sixty, but there was also a scattering of younger twenty/thirty somethings in the audience for John Howard's Farewell Party now playing at the Melbourne Trades Hall, and the audience response was, to say the least, enthusiastic.

In John Howard's Farewell Party Quantock, in his inimitable way, takes his audience on a friendly and rambling journey through his memories of the Howard years. The stage is decorated with newspaper headlines announcing the numerous crises of the decade, prompting Quantock to deliver his quixotic comments on, among other things, wars; refugees; IR laws; personalities – Howard, Downer, Hansen, Ruddock, Rudd, Kennett, Bracks, Brumby; the economy; climate change (this happened in 2006) and the water crisis (in April 2007 it was discovered that someone had stolen the water from the Murray overnight). Andrew Bolt's peculiar logic is highlighted alongside that of some of those who write letters to the editor

Quantock may be unashamedly left leaning, but this doesn't mean that he fails to create humour at the expense of some of his 'comrades': there's never been a country which elected a 'Kevin', only North Korea would elect a 'Kim' and they have no choice, and Gough, well he just got lucky! He cheerfully takes you on a ride from the sublime to the ridiculous, seemingly effortlessly stringing together talk of the importance of oil and the importance of having the 'right' underwear. As with all humour, the laughs come out of the timing and the delivery, and Quantock has successfully defined and refined his particular comic style.

A night with Rod Quantock may not be for everyone but I for one delight in his perceptive insights into the vagaries of our political system and our society, and I stand in awe of his ability to connect the seemingly unconnectable in a way that makes us laugh.


Rod Quantock presents an event of mixed emotions
John Howard’s Farewell Party

Venue: Trades Hall, Carlton
Dates & Times: Tuesday 6 November to Saturday 10 November at 8pm
& Sunday 11 November at 6pm
Tickets: $33.99 full and $20.98 conc
Bookings: Tickets at the door or easytix.com.au or 03 9639 0096
Visit: http://quantock.com.au/