A world premiere bringing wonderful new memories to classic Australian favourites.

Adelaide Festival Centre
June 7, 2015

The homage to two of Australia’s most prolific artists, baritone Peter Dawson and songwriter Jack O’Hagan, begins with a lone violin. We are on a musical path with Cameron Hill’s solo, and as it turns into a road, we arrive at a place we know well; Gundagai. The audience, expecting reminiscences with their tribute show, are already delighted from the opening passage. Our memory lane vocalists join the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Along The Road to the Gundagai all but has the audience singing along; and it’s only the first number.

Barry Humphries is our charming raconteur, and, with green velvet jacket, sparkling wit and passion, creates a delightful fireside-storytelling atmosphere, thick with sentiment and humour. His narration reveals key performances and career highs and lows of both artists, and delightfully paints scenes from days of yore that speak of a simpler, almost romanticised era. The timing of orchestral intros and outros are well conceived by director Rodney Fisher, and add mood and polish to the tales. Conductor Vanessa Scammell expertly handles the complexities of various musical styles and innumerable cues, whilst drawing...