Struggling to maintain its relevance in an age where the “Uni Revue” could arguably be replaced by a decent selection of “YouTube” downloads Old Nick have pulled out the big guns, literally, to blow away both audiences and the doldrums into which the company has descended.

Assisted by the outcome of the recent US election, Assassins fulfils its contract in spades. I think all of us in Australia, regardless of our politics, wonder if some ‘weirdo’ is going to hatch a plan in the coming months to Assassinate the “President Elect”. It’s the sort of perverse anticipation we experience watching motor sports, downhill skiing or rodeo riders.

Assassins may not be about this President but stellar performances from all involved give us an insight into both the minds of the respective assassins and the psyche of the American people in general.

Anna Kidd as “The Proprietor” gives a “Minnelli” like performance, dark but somehow engaging and at times even humorous. A skilled balancing act and a credit to both her skill and the director’s.

Jeff Keogh is entirely immersed in his role as John Wilkes Booth the “Founding Father” of US Presidential Assassins and manages to bring a strange fatherly aspect to the role as he interacts with those who came after him. Simply superb characterisation, physical and vocal, by Jeff makes his performance one of the standouts of this play.

However, when it comes to “physical characterisation” Craig Iron’s portrayal of the lessor known Charles Guiteau is an act of sublime perfection. I had absolutely no problem seeing into the warped soul of Guiteau, Iron’s sustained this character to perfection and I shall not forget his “crazy eyes” any time soon!

It feels almost insulting to the multi-talented Scott Farrow to be commenting on him fourth in this review but he should take no offence as his performance is intended to slip somewhat under the radar. Scott is a consummate professional who makes the most of his role as “The Balladeer” and by the end we are left understanding and appreciating the skill of his performance.

Jared “Jags” Goldsmith, almost upstages the better known Assassins no doubt channelling Billy Bob Thornton’s “Bad Santa” as the severely warped “Sam Byck”.

In truth, there is not a bad performance in this show, Assassins and Ensemble alike deliver polished, professional and powerful performances. The band is tight, as would be expected with Aaron “Pogo” Powell in charge and the staging and costumes are smack on target.

The set is just superb, a timeless rendering of a “Dark Americana”. The limitations of the Peacock when it comes to set and stage size have been dealt with intelligently both in design and direction. The decision to go with realistic rather than caricature firearm props is a good one albeit one that left this audience member leaning a little to the left/right on occasion…

In short, this show is a MUST SEE. Beautiful set, great direction, stellar performances, tight music and an interesting and potentially current topic. Hopefully Assassins is the start of a great revival for Old Nick doing plays that are relevant, edgy and appeal to a wide enough audience to keep the company going for another 70 years.

*Kev Collidge is descended from convict 17648, Kev Collidge decided at a young age Tasmania was better than anywhere else to live so he might as well stick around. Born in 1969 to generation “X” he thinks numbers and letters are the worst way to define humanity! That said, after 20 odd years in Hobart theatre as a technician and performer he feels he has the right to drop the occasional review on his peers. Kev has worked in private and public sectors, from running heritage pubs to helping people get jobs. Kev is married to half of “Shakespeare in the Gardens” and you’ll see him at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens running the Stage Desk there every February.
Kev Collidge*