Dame Edna’s Work Experience

Umbrella Entertainment

R4 DVD

Dame Edna Everage is an Australian institution. A comedic persona created by Barry Humphries, she first appeared in a Melbourne comedy revue in 1955. While Humphries does have other comedic personas, it is Dame Edna which has brought him most fame and continues to be his main vehicle for his unique blend of wit and sharp edge humour. Humphries humour is strongly satirical and for this reason has courted controversy on many occasions, Dame Edna is very much a take it or leave it type of humour, either you get it and love it or you don’t.

Over the years Dame Edna has toured the world and achieved an incredible level of success, with live shows, TV performances and series and constant guest appearances on everything from Jay Leno to Parkinson and many Australian programs such as Spicks and Specks. The Dame Edna Everage Christmas messages are always something to remember.

While many female impersonators emphasize the illusion of the female persona or “drag”, Barry Humphries takes the role a lot further, since 1955 he has created a whole personality, family and history for Dame Edna who has really taken on a life of her own. Humphries has emphasized the Australianness of Dame Edna, her bizarre dress sense and double entendre to create a character which is unique in the history of female impersonation.

Indeed, his ability to use his persona to make the most risqué and possibly offensive comments and discuss subjects normally taboo makes him quite a one off performer. The way in which Dame Edna deals with celebrities in her various interview programs and chat shows is astounding and she is able to get them to discuss the most intimate of things by her mixture of humour, sarcasm and wit.

In the late Nineties Dame Edna decided to do a grand tour of Britain's work places to report on the state of the nation and therefore staged an unusual show in Wigan based in a baked bean factory.

“Take me where someone works for a living, take me to Wigan, where normal people lead normal lives. Let me get my hands dirty,” declares the Grande Dame to a packed room of startled factory workers at a baked bean factory in Northern England.

Dame Edna’s Work Experience sees megastar from Moonee Ponds get down to the factory floor and chat with ordinary blue-collar folk about their lives, recent developments in their relationships, and herself, of course. Dame Edna’s Work Experience is a different sort of Dame Edna show, rather than working with celebrities or playing off interviewees, she works as a stand up comedian, feeding off questions from the audience and an occasional planned event (such as Madge Allsop). This makes the show a little more “uneven” that her interview shows, some sections seem a little flat compared to others and it is clear that Dame Edna works better with semi-prepared material than live. It also does seem that a blue collar audience is a little unsure what to make of a sarcastic drag performer putting on a show in their factory.

This does not, however, detract from the overall experience; the show is fun, enjoyable, in superbly bad taste and highly amusing. The show climaxes, of course, with a uniquely Dame Edna song !

Extras include:

The Naked Bunyip Excerpt

"Guess Whose Mums Got A Whirlpool' TV Ad

Teaser Trailers from Barry McKenzie Holds His Own

Highly recommended.