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Centrelink The Musical

"More entertaining than hilarious."


Centrelink The Musical is exactly what it sounds like.

Every automated phone message and lifeless wait in line we’ve ever had are concisely synthesised into an informed, jocose discussion about Australia’s welfare system. From the DSP to the EPP, from the underpaid staff to the creepy interactions with fellow customers, Centrelink The Musical hits home. Great cast charisma combines with a terrific musical premise, creating original songs that are only less charming than the fashion they’re performed in.

Though with more freeloading rhetoric than a public transport debate hosted by Joe Hockey, the show’s narrative and dialogue become slightly repetitive, beginning to drag around halfway. More entertaining than hilarious, perhaps outside the Comedy Festival banner, the show might be a superior, more gratifying fit. 

A fantastic idea, though it’s also one which leaves a little to be desired in terms of execution.