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Uncollected Plays of Shaun Micallef
Shaun Micallef is without doubt Australia's premier comedian, writer, producer, presenter, actor, author, broadcaster, bon vivant, gadfly, troubadour, dancer, impresario, acrobat, lion tamer, poet and elite sportsman. But did you know that he is also an internationally renowned playwright? No? Typical. It really is a stain on our national character that this doyen of theatre doesn't get the credit he deserves or attention he craves in this country - mute testimony to Australia's cultural cringe and inveterate idiocy. From Broadway to the West End, his name is mentioned in the same breath as Mamet and Ray Cooney; and in the salons of Paris Micallef is worshipped as a god.His plays, uncollected until now, are irrefutable proof that when it comes to listing the world's greatest dramatists, the name Micallef should be inserted in there somewhere. Even if you have never been to the theatre before, just holding this book in your hands as you are now will change your life forever. You'll laugh, you'll cry, your body will spasm convulsively and you may even be so moved that you will open the book and read it.
331 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2018
15 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Shaun Micallef
24 books58 followersShaun Micallef has starred in television, films, stage shows, radio and several books. He also has won four Logies, an ARIA and an AFI but, admirably, hasn’t let any of this go to his head.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 6, 2019
I don’t think it’s any secret that Shaun Micallef is my favourite comedian, satirist, television host, surrealist and man about town in the world. I love his style of humour, as it’s so dry it should come with a drought warning. He’s fantastic at plays on words, coming out with the shocking and the type of joke you can repeat to test on your friends to see how smart (or not) they are. (Maybe it’s only me who does the latter, but I’m telling you it’s a fantastic way to read a room quickly).
Perhaps another reason I like Micallef is his irreverence – not one thing is sacred with him. You can also see his influences, such as Monty Python and Kenneth Williams. (Ooh, I KNOW!)
Naturally I was going to buy this book and fangirl all over it. But I received it instead for Christmas and it’s a signed copy. (Although I won’t go all Jelly Cannister trying to extract DNA from it). So on to the book. It’s a hard cover. It has two nice pictures of Mr Micallef, one on the dust jacket and a slightly more disturbing one if you take the dust jacket off. (Possibly enticing you to read the book faster so you can put it on the shelf). There are references to mould, fonts, Dan Brown and Broadway. And that’s only on the dust jacket.
Inside, Micallef gives his holy insights into how to write and host a production, which is of extreme benefit if you live in Adelaide and like experimental amateur theatre. In between, there are several scripts for plays that should have you banging down the doors of your local theatre, demanding they put these on next. Because every local theatre has sets for a Roman Empire, an Australian outback town and a dodgy looking circus. These scripts are to be savoured, because you won’t get the full effect otherwise. The timing and play on words are everything. The dialogue is multilayered and you’ll be wondering how you can add a Coleridge joke to your next board presentation. In short, they are brilliant, tackling every era and national treasure. My only annoyance was that several times where I thought ‘discreet’ should have been used, ‘discrete’ was written instead. Perhaps it’s in the pronunciation or perhaps I am too bourgeois to understand the subtle differences of the true mastermind.
In summary, The Uncollected Plays of Shaun Micallef are witty and brilliant. Either SBS or the ABC should produce all of them, possibly superimposed in a corner of The Ghan Slow TV so that people have multiple points when they call into talkback radio to complain about taxpayer dollars being wasted.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Perhaps another reason I like Micallef is his irreverence – not one thing is sacred with him. You can also see his influences, such as Monty Python and Kenneth Williams. (Ooh, I KNOW!)
Naturally I was going to buy this book and fangirl all over it. But I received it instead for Christmas and it’s a signed copy. (Although I won’t go all Jelly Cannister trying to extract DNA from it). So on to the book. It’s a hard cover. It has two nice pictures of Mr Micallef, one on the dust jacket and a slightly more disturbing one if you take the dust jacket off. (Possibly enticing you to read the book faster so you can put it on the shelf). There are references to mould, fonts, Dan Brown and Broadway. And that’s only on the dust jacket.
Inside, Micallef gives his holy insights into how to write and host a production, which is of extreme benefit if you live in Adelaide and like experimental amateur theatre. In between, there are several scripts for plays that should have you banging down the doors of your local theatre, demanding they put these on next. Because every local theatre has sets for a Roman Empire, an Australian outback town and a dodgy looking circus. These scripts are to be savoured, because you won’t get the full effect otherwise. The timing and play on words are everything. The dialogue is multilayered and you’ll be wondering how you can add a Coleridge joke to your next board presentation. In short, they are brilliant, tackling every era and national treasure. My only annoyance was that several times where I thought ‘discreet’ should have been used, ‘discrete’ was written instead. Perhaps it’s in the pronunciation or perhaps I am too bourgeois to understand the subtle differences of the true mastermind.
In summary, The Uncollected Plays of Shaun Micallef are witty and brilliant. Either SBS or the ABC should produce all of them, possibly superimposed in a corner of The Ghan Slow TV so that people have multiple points when they call into talkback radio to complain about taxpayer dollars being wasted.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
February 15, 2019
Special mention to the plays Faust & Furious, Exodium, Visiting Rites, The John Merrick Story, The Person from Porlock, and Lift for making me laugh out loud. I would love to see some of these in action.
May 8, 2020
This book was laugh-out-loud funny. I would have to say that Shaun Micallef is a brilliant satirist. At times I could see the influence of Monty Phython (in a good way) as I think the best comedians and satirists are always the smartest.
November 22, 2020
I’m unsure how to rate this as there is such versatility in both the forewords and the scripts for the plays Shaun Micallef has written over the course of his career. Micallef is one of Australia’s most well-known comedians and satirists and is often championed for his parodies of political figures in the country and his absurdist takes on past and current events. I think I had the same sort of response to these plays as I do with his Mad as Hell, where I enjoy the initial satire and dry humour but tend to sort of lose it when it reaches the third act, and the comedy becomes more and more absurd and surrealist. Micallef has an interesting narrative voice and you can see that his humour has remained consistent for the most part throughout his works in any form of media. I particularly enjoyed Faust and the Furious, Satyricon Tonight! and A Macbeth Murder Mystery. I think these were the most playful whilst maintaining a balance with the source material (A Macbeth Murder Mystery especially so as the characterisation was so on-point and hilarious). I would recommend this to those that love Micallef’s approach to humour.
November 27, 2018
Micallef is one of Australia's premier television comedians, the creator and presenter of Mad as Hell amongst many other works. His humour is intellectual and satirical and many of these plays (none of which have been produced) take the form of literary parody. He's influenced by the Goon Show, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore and the Pythons amongst others. There's a lot to enjoy in this book.
December 5, 2018
I love this book so much
Favourite ever now
I love number 6. Visiting Rites because Doug is so evil which makes him interesting to play/say his lines.
I’m practicing Visiting Rites every day now so I can perform it one day.
Amazing
Favourite ever now
I love number 6. Visiting Rites because Doug is so evil which makes him interesting to play/say his lines.
I’m practicing Visiting Rites every day now so I can perform it one day.
Amazing
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2018
This book has some great moments in it and the whole book itself would make a lovely play. I am sure they could be adapted to the stage. Shaun Micallef has proven once again that when it comes to comedic talent and being a talented prose writer, he is one of them.
January 26, 2019
Shaun Micallef is a brilliant comedic mind and voice. I’ve never laughed out loud so much in a book. I would lend it to everyone I know but then I wouldn’t get to read it again and again.
February 2, 2019
Ridiculously funny, as well as just plain ridiculous.
Part plays, part fake memoir, all giggle worthy.
Part plays, part fake memoir, all giggle worthy.
February 20, 2019
Very witty.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews