Central Coast Gang Show 2019

For the last 34 years, Central Coast Scouts and Guides have come together in the July School holidays to put on their annual variety show. They are always spectacular, and this year is no exception. Gang Shows are a nearly 80-year-old tradition of the Scouting and Guide movement, starting in the United Kingdom before spreading around the world in the decades that followed. There are roughly 15 Gang Shows still produced around Australia. Styled on the old music hall variety shows and pantomimes of the 1930s, the shows marry music and comedy generally across two acts, ending on a musical celebration of the Scouts and Guides movements themselves.

The program credits 10 production team members who collectively put together the show each year. They’ve all done an incredible job creating a highly entertaining show that doesn’t let the energy, cast or audience, dwindle for a moment.

Kicking off with a medley of circus-themed songs, CCGS sets the mood for an evening of family-friendly entertainment. Dazzling costumes and clever use of the show’s simple set keep the production moving throughout the performance’s several major music sequences that include classic Broadway hits, 1980s chart toppers and more, however it’s the second act’s opening Halloween sequence that really stands out, aided by appropriately eerie lighting.

As with previous years, the show’s major sequences are broken up with small sketch items, many of them created by production team members or other Gang Shows around Australia. Each one delights and further elevates the show. Some items are more aimed at poking fun at Scouts, Guides and indeed Gang Show, but still, allow the jokes to land with all audiences. Special mention must be made of ‘The Terrors,’ a reoccurring set of characters in CCGS’s history, who employ slapstick and physical comedy to often hilarious messy ends.

Many theatre artists, here on the Central Coast and across Australia, have had their start in Gang Shows, this reviewer included. Central Coast Gang Show has never been about being the “best in the show”, it’s always been about giving it a go. The finale, performed in full dress uniform, reminds us these talented, and mostly young, artists are local Scouts and Guides. Many of the sixty-strong cast made their stage debuts in this evening’s performance. Each one of them shone; each one of them deserves every round of applause, and cheer they received. Gang Shows are an important, and yet sadly often overlooked, part of the Australian theatrical landscape. This shouldn’t be the case, and tonight’s performance of Central Coast Gang Show proves that.

For many seeing Central Coast Gang Show, 2019 will have a sense of going home - past performers have the dance moves from Crest of the Wave firmly stored in our muscle memory. For everyone else, you’ll leave the theatre entertained, but more importantly, you’ll feel like one of the family.

Joshua Maxwell