The Goodies at the State Theatre
March 5th, 2005 at 1:13 pm (Live theatre)
Like most Australians of my generation, I grew up on The Goodies, watching them every afternoon after school as the ABC ran the episodes again and again and again. So when I heard that they performing live in Sydney, there was absolutely no way I wasn’t going. No matter that they are all in their 60s, and there was a real possibility that the show would be quite dull – it was just one of those things I had to do.
As it turned out, the show was far from dull. It had its ups and downs, but basically they are still very funny. They did a sketch from I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again which went on a bit too long (and I didn’t think was very funny in ISIRTA anyway). Showing excerpts from the shows didn’t do too much for me either, since I’ve seen most of them relatively recently anyway, but I realise not everyone in the audience has cable TV, so for some it would be their first viewing in years.
Most of the show was structured around the three of them telling anecdotes, and reading out and answering questions. I think this probably worked a lot better than trying to turn the TV program into a stage show. However, there were a few brief sketches, such as Bill’s and Graeme’s Cambridge Circus auditions (plus the aforementioned ISIRTA bit) to add variety. And it was funny. And interesting. And I had a good time.