Paul Keating - But Not As You Know Him - To Appear At QPAC

One of Australia's favourite performers, Jonathan Biggins, will morph into Paul Keating - visionary, reformer and rabble-rouser - in the critically acclaimed new comedy The Gospel According to Paul at Queensland Performing Art Centre's (QPAC) Cremorne Theatre from 9 to 13 July.

Full of intelligence and sharpness, The Gospel According to Paul is a funny, insightful and occasionally poignant portrait of the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, the man that - as Biggins tells it - single-handedly shaped contemporary Australia.

Showcasing his famous sledging, rich rhetoric and ego the size of Everest, The Gospel According to Paul distils Keating's essence into 90 minutes, focusing on key biographical milestones, landmark political achievements and personal obsessions.

Regardless of political persuasion, this one-man show is essential post-federal election viewing for those who love an acerbic wit.

It shows the man who grew up in the tribe of the Labor Party and gained an education at the knee of Jack Lang, who treated economics as an art form and demanded we confront the wrongs of our colonial past.

Biggins' performance as Keating is well known from the long-running Sydney Theatre Company success story The Wharf Revue. Beyond the canny impersonation, Biggins, like so many Australians, has long been fascinated by Keating and what Keating means to Australia.

Biggins said in all his years of writing and performing for The Wharf Revue, one character remained a constant favourite of the audience: Paul Keating.

"Love him or hate him, he is universally recognised as a leader who not only had a vision for Australia but could articulate it, fight for it and, most importantly, deliver it," said Mr Biggins.

"The Bankstown boy with no formal education who quickly realised that to get things done in political life, it's better to be needed than loved.

"A razor-sharp wit who could destroy opponents with words alone, a romantic and a melancholic who bestrode the public stage yet remained intensely private.

"I can't think of a more entertaining or significant figure in recent Australian history with whom to spend an evening. All iceberg, no tip."

Tickets are on sale now via qpac.com.au or 136 246.

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