AK03: Rob's Mob still adore former leader

BY CATHRIN SCHAER

He hasn't been the Prime Minister for almost two decades but the general public still react strongly to Sir Robert Muldoon. Or rather, to anyone impersonating the late former PM on Auckland's streets.

A self-penned show about Muldoon's last hour or so in power by actor and producer David McPhail starts at the Westend Theatre tonight as part of AK03. To make sure we know about it, McPhail took to the Auckland streets dressed as his alter-ego, the Muldoon he created and made famous during his days on television's political satire A Week Of It.

Did anyone still care? Interestingly, they did. Some onlookers adored the former PM. "There was one charming lady who told me she still loved him," said McPhail. And then there was one younger man who still loathed the former politician who was well known for brutalising his opponents.

And then, of course, there were the younger passersby who didn't have a clue. McPhail has performed the piece in Christchurch previously.

"But even for people who don't remember him well, there's still a fascination with this man. After all, he had such a significant influence on politics in this country.

"For instance, I was talking to one girl who'd seen the show down in Christchurch and I said to her, 'But you must have been tiny when he was in power?'

"But she told me, 'My mother loved him and my father hated him and they used to argue about him over the dinner table all the time.' So I think there's still plenty of interest."

The theatre show works in "real time" dealing with the last 80 minutes of Muldoon's time as Prime Minister. "In 1984 he called a snap election in a rather boisterous way and a month later he lost it very, very badly," McPhail relates. "So it's also a play about someone of immense power who loses it suddenly - in the space of about quarter of an hour actually.

"So how does he take it when no one cares any more and he's no longer dangerous?"

Herald Feature: Auckland Festival AK03

Auckland Festival website