Bryan Dawe

Bryan Dawe is one of Australia’s finest political satirists and humourists and has enjoyed a long, successful career writing and performing on national radio, television and film.

Bryan is best known for his work with John Clarke on the ABC’s 7.30 Report where they prick the balloons of the nation’s alleged political leaders. However, for many years, Bryan has also been writing and performing two much-loved satirical characters on ABC Radio: Sir Murray Rivers QC and Roly Parks with his Letter from Kalangadoo. He also enjoys performing as himself.

Bryan’s sharp wit and observation together with his flexibility and unique performances make him a popular addition to any corporate event. His obvious talent lends itself to MC, facilitator, hypothetical moderator, conference speaker and after-dinner entertainer.

Bryan was also a cast member and writer of the critically acclaimed and highly successful spoof of the Sydney Olympics, the ABC TV series The Games. His film credits include the Australia hit comedy The Castle, The Honorable Wally Norman, and Paul Cox’s Lust and Revenge.

Bryan Dawe's much-loved characters:

Sir Murray Rivers QC: Sir Murray Rivers QC (retired) is one of Australia’s most controversial legal and political figures. He is a former Victorian Supreme Court Judge and an outspoken media commentator, often described by his friends as ‘The Graham Richardson of the Liberal Party’. His forthright speech “‘Looking Forward to The Past – Australia in the next 10 years” covers a wide range of controversial topics such as Corporate Governance and ethics in banking, leadership, his views on IVF programs, the dangers of Julia Gillard introducing a Republic, greenhouse emissions and the environment – plus whatever else he feels like pontificating upon.

Roly Parks – Letter from Kalangadoo: Roly Parks lives in a town called Kalangadoo – a real town in the South east of Australia. Each week Roly writes a letter to his son, Gene, who lives in London with his partner, Ahmed. The letters are about Roly’s life in Kalangadoo. They are both ironic and humorous but they can also be deeply touching, ranging from his ongoing encounters with his former wife of fifty years, Sonya, to his run-ins with the town gossip Beryl Coates or with the burial of his best mate ‘Bull’ Devine.

After Dinner Speeches as himself:

Questions without notice: Twenty minutes into Bryan’s talk about his life and works, he introduces his alter ego, the pompous and outspoken retired Supreme Court judge, Sir Murray Rivers QC (ret) on screen via satellite from Canberra. For the next ten minutes, Bryan vainly attempts to extract a sensible answer from Sir Murray – one of the truly outrageous curmudgeons on the speaker circuit. It’s a clever illusion by one of Australia’s finest satirists.

Nothing organised: This presentation takes its cue from Spike Milligan’s famous statement ‘I’ve got nothing organised – so nothing can go wrong.’ Bryan takes us on a personal journey into his creative life, from growing up in working class Port Adelaide to the creation of his two most loved characters – ‘Roly Parks’ and the outrageous conservative ‘Sir Murray Rivers QC’. He also talks about working with John Clarke and the making of The Games.

The Art of Catching Trains: A humorous and informative presentation which takes the audience on a romantic journey with the much train-travelled Bryan around Eastern and Central Europe. Throughout, Bryan interweaves stories, photos and video footage tantalising the traveller to take their time, their wine and perhaps their friends on a ‘slow coach’ train journey to places such as Prague, Budapest, and Sighisoara and Brasov in Romania.