MELBOURNE, VIC. — Few Australian politicians have commanded a room quite like Paul Keating, and few performers are better equipped to capture his formidable presence than Jonathan Biggins.
Returning to the stage in The Gospel According to Paul: The Second Coming, Biggins resurrects the former Prime Minister’s razor-sharp wit, trademark verbal flourishes and larger-than-life persona in a lively political satire that celebrates, skewers and ultimately revels in one of the most distinctive figures in Australian public life.
Written and performed by Biggins, the production is directed with an assured hand by Aarne Neeme, allowing one of Australia’s finest satirists to deliver a compelling portrait of a man whose political legacy is matched by his formidable intellect and equally formidable ego.
Biggins describes the work as “the first three-dimensional, unauthorised autobiography written by someone else”, a wonderfully apt summation of a show that balances historical insight with affectionate irreverence.
Born into an Irish-Catholic, working-class, Labor-voting family, Keating joined the Labor Party as a teenager, absorbing the political lessons of Jack Lang. Elected to parliament in 1969, he served briefly in Gough Whitlam’s government before becoming Treasurer under Bob Hawke in 1983.
Their partnership drove a sweeping program of economic reform, but a bitter leadership rivalry ultimately saw Keating challenge Hawke and become Australia’s 24th Prime Minister in December 1991.
Biggins navigates this history with considerable flair, exploring Keating’s landmark achievements, his appetite for economic reform and his determination to confront the injustices of Australia’s past. The result is more than a succession of familiar political anecdotes. It is a considered portrait of a reformer whose ambitions extended well beyond the parliamentary chamber, even as his penchant for a well-aimed barb supplied ample material for satire.
The script captures the particular pleasure of Keating’s eviscerating Question Time performances, his impatience with mediocrity and his conviction that political leadership should involve both intellectual rigour and a sense of national purpose.
Biggins has an acute ear for Keating’s distinctive cadence and verbal flourishes, reproducing the former PM’s clipped delivery, withering asides and capacity to reduce an opponent to rubble with a single well-placed observation.
Yet it is the performance’s more playful diversions that give the production its distinctive rhythm. Biggins moves effortlessly between political grandstanding and personal enthusiasms, revealing Keating’s social progressiveness alongside his unmistakable taste for theatricality.
Keating’s eclectic musical tastes, from Mahler to Tom Jones, provide an entertaining counterpoint to the political discourse, while an amusing interpretation of Irving Berlin’s Puttin’ on the Ritz showcases Biggins’s flair for theatricality. A nod to Keating’s early days managing Sydney rock band The Ramrods adds a delightful footnote to the portrait.
The production is supported by Mark Thompson’s superbly realised design of Keating’s office, an environment that feels entirely appropriate to a man who regarded politics as both an intellectual pursuit and an exercise in personal style. Verity Hampson’s lighting and David Bergman’s sound design complement the action without distracting from Biggins’s commanding central performance.
As the title suggests, The Gospel According to Paul: The Second Coming is less concerned with offering a conventional political retrospective than revisiting the Keating phenomenon with fresh comic perspective. Biggins understands that the humour lies not simply in impersonation, but in the contradictions of a politician who combined genuine reformist conviction with an almost operatic sense of his own importance.
The evening closes with Sinatra’s That’s Life, a fitting musical punctuation mark for a character who has always appeared to regard adversity as merely another opportunity for a memorable comeback.
For audiences with an interest in Australian political history, or anyone who appreciates satire delivered with intelligence, precision and theatrical panache, The Gospel According to Paul: The Second Coming is a thoroughly entertaining return.
Venue: Playhouse – Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne.
Performance: Tuesday 20 October 20, 2026 – November 1, 2026.
Information and Bookings: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au.
Following the Melbourne season, The Gospel According to Paul will play the Wharf 1 Theatre – Sydney Theatre Company from November 5 – December 20, 2026.
Review by Bill Stephens OAM.
