Venue: Playhouse, Sydney Opera House
Presented by: Wander Productions

Is Australia suffering a leadership deficit? There was a time when politicians could inspire us. But were they really better than the current crop or has our perception benefited from the passage of time? Is it a case of the more things change the more they stay the same?

 

Max Gillies has been a keen observer of the political combat zone for half a century. His fascination with the ups and downs of political leadership has seen him parody everyone from Hawke to Howard to Thatcher and many more. In Once Were Leaders, he goes through his extensive catalogue of works to share some of his most infamous characters.

 

Once Max used to apply make-up, wigs and prosthetic enhancements in order to disguise himself. He doesn’t have those items anymore. But what he has accumulated is a rich collection of pen portraits. Join Max as he shares his memories of a life spent on the fringes of power mining the archive for his favourite speeches, orations and soliloquies.

 

Once Were Leaders is an intimate evening with Max Gillies. You will see him up close, unmasked and witness as he explains his processes of creation of some of our most loved and hated leadership personalities.

 

“Once were Leaders provides the opportunity to observe a great character actor at work. Decades of refining and practising his art allows Gillies to instantly disappear into the core of his subject, who then inhabits the room before your very eyes” - Bill Stephens - Australian Arts Review