HE'S a politician known for his acerbic wit, famous sledging and rich rhetoric.
No wonder then that former Prime Minister Paul Keating is returning to the limelight - only this time he's letting someone else do the talking.
Actor Jonathan Biggins is playing Keating in the critically acclaimed new comedy The Gospel According to Paul at Queensland Performing Arts Centre's Cremorne Theatre from July 9-13.
The show is a funny, insightful and occasionally poignant portrait of the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, the man that - as Biggins tells it - single-handedly shaped contemporary Australia.
Showcasing his rich rhetoric Biggins distils Keating's essence into 90 minutes, focusing on key biographical milestones, landmark political achievements and personal obsessions.
It shows the man who grew up in the tribe of the Labor Party and gained an education at the knee of Jack Lang, who treated economics as an art form and demanded we confront the wrongs of our colonial past.
Biggins' performance as Keating is well known from the long-running Sydney Theatre Company success story The Wharf Revue. Beyond the canny impersonation, Biggins, like so many Australians, has long been fascinated by Keating and what he means to Australia.
Biggins said in all his years of writing and performing for The Wharf Revue, one character remained a constant favourite of the audience: Paul Keating.
"Love him or hate him, he is universally recognised as a leader who not only had a vision for Australia but could articulate it, fight for it and, most importantly, deliver it," said Mr Biggins.
"The Bankstown boy with no formal education who quickly realised that to get things done in political life, it's better to be needed than loved.
"A razor-sharp wit who could destroy opponents with words alone, a romantic and a melancholic who bestrode the public stage yet remained intensely private.
"I can't think of a more entertaining or significant figure in recent Australian history with whom to spend an evening. All iceberg, no tip."
Get tickets at qpac.com.au or 136 246.
