WORDS: Dave Bradley
According to PG, this Fringe’s show was the “eighth in a trilogy”, and it was a pleasant surprise to discover that it was almost all upbeat, often very funny, and even a little sweet. Peter Goers? Sweet? Yes!
Peter took to the stage to call the punters “almost-deads” again, and then he launched into three-quarters of an hour or so of jokes, recollections of his travels for the ABC around South Australia, and a few more personal anecdotes. There weren’t any musical numbers, at first, to break up the performance, and so it was all pure Peter, and while there were a few show-bizzy tales (including that old one about Peter O’Toole), most of it was about his life and times in SA. And, it must be said, about getting old, even though he insists that he’s only 48.
The audience was mature enough to remember John Martin’s, where Peter had his first proper full-time job, and the original Trims, back when it was huge (“such a loss!”), and he also hilariously mentions a story that’s whispered about still in certain Adelaidean circles: the time that Sir Les Patterson (a.k.a. Barry Humphries) invaded Adelaide TV’s morning show A Touch Of Elegance (a.k.a. “A Clutch Of Elephants”) somewhere in the early 1980s, and nearly destroyed the program forever.
Unlike Peter’s show last year, which was naturally haunted by COVID and featured almost teary memories of beloved friends who had recently passed, 2023’s show was virtually all fun, although there was a bit late-on where he discussed a struggle or two he’s been having with stress and depression. However, this soon degenerated into hysterical descriptions about loose bowels and vanishing body parts.
Naturally, everything culminated with three songs by the legendary Wills Sisters, Anne and Susan, along with their expected rude jokes and a reference to how they entertained the troops in Vietnam. And then it was time for an appearance by, yes it’s true, Dawn Service. Bless her.
Pathetic? Really? Surely you mean fabulous?
Peter Goers And Isn’t It Pathetic At His Age?
until 19 March 2023
Holden Street Theatres, The Arch
