Drew Forsythe said that in this year's Wharf Revue, "We've given ourselves a very difficult task".
Or rather, he did, and his longtime collaborators - co-writer and musical director Phil Scott (who's not performing this year) and co-writer, co-director and fellow performer Jonathan Biggins - went along with it.
"I had the idea of doing Vladimir Putin as an opera," he said.
"Boris Godunov, that kind of thing - but to do it legitimately we'd have to do it in Russian."
Setting lyrics to music - in this case by Modest Mussorgsky and others - is challenging enough, but having to translate them into Russian then learn and sing in that language only makes it much more difficult, requiring lots of rehearsal.
"We're getting there," Forsythe said.
The skit will be surtitled but most of The Wharf Revue: Pride in Prejudice will, of course, be in English.
The latest edition of the satirical revue - which began in 2000 - will premiere in what Forsythe calls "its spiritual home, Canberra".
It will mine laughs from just about anyone and anything, from politicians - including Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese to the British royal family to Gardening Australia's Costa Georgiadis, making use of a range of music to help make its points.
"I do a piece on Lidia Thorpe," Forsythe said.
Dressed as Groucho Marx, he'll sing Lidia the Attitude Lady, a spoof of Lydia the Tattooed Lady which the comedian sang in At the Circus.
Two Australian billionaires - Ms Rinehart and Mr Palmer - will be parodied as "Gina and Clive", a desperado duo a la Bonnie and Clyde.
Former US president Donald Trump and his erstwhile attorney Rudy Giuliani are seen in a prison break with an Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? theme.
It's not all fun and games though: Forsythe said, "We always have a serious moment" and this time it's about the Voice.
There are two different versions - which one is used will depend on the outcome of the referendum.
Forsythe said that when it comes to politics, the creators "all think the same - we have the same sense of humour, the same political biases" but try to dish out serves to both sides.
"They tend to cop it evenly," he said.
Andrew Worboys, who's been a previous Wharfie, will do most of the musical honours.
Also returning are Mandy Bishop and David Whitney, both of whom will play a variety of roles in the show.
Whitney was last in Canberra in 2019 with Much Ado About Nothing - he took over Biggins' role in the Wharf Revue in 2021 during its extended Sydney season.
He said that while Forsythe and Biggins and Scott were very much the creative force of the show, he was able to make suggestions: "They say 'No!'"
But seriously, Whitney said, "They really know the audience and the genre" and since they knew he would be in the cast they could tailor material to his talents.
"I've done a lot of musical theatre so they've put in a lot more music," he explained.
Perhaps in a nod to Whitney's experience in musicals, there's a Stephen Sondheim tribute section, Pollies (instead of Follies) with take-offs of various Sondheim songs including The Ladies Who Lunch and Not While I'm Around. Audience members can discover for themselves which characters sing what.
He said among the figures he will be playing are Liberal leader Dutton - "He's so absolute, so definitive in what he is" and, on the opposite side of the political spectrum, the Greens' Max Chandler-Mather ("even though he's about 30 years younger than I am") as well as independent ACT senator David Pocock.
As the hero shot indicates, there will also be a skit referencing Jane Austen, but not in the way you might expect - it will comment on modern sensibilities rather than those of the 18th century.
"There are so many people taking pleasure in taking outrageous positions," Whitney said.
The Wharf Revue: Pride in Prejudice is on at the Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre from October 24 to November 5, 2023. See: canberratheatrecentre.com.au
