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Mr G (Chris Lilley) rehearses Annabel Dickson – The Musical, an original work inspired by a real incident, the death of one of the school’s students from a drug overdose.
Curator’s notes
Mr G’s hilarious self-absorption reaches its peak in the over-the-top drama of Annabel Dickson – The Musical. Through Lilley’s work runs a thread of provocation, an interest in exploring cultural and social sensitivities and taboo areas. That Lilley plays characters that cross the lines of gender and race is in itself provocative: on top of this, his Ja’mie and Mr G show a particular penchant for prejudice and insensitivity, running the gamut from Mr G’s casual use of the word 'sluts’ and Ja’mie’s throwaway racist comments to this musical extravaganza. It’s both funny and well placed to fuel those media debates that come up from time to time about what constitutes appropriate material for comedy.
This episode did in fact attract some ironic controversy when its airing coincided with the drug death of a young woman named Annabel. The family complained that Lilley had been insensitive and used their plight as fodder. However, it was established that filming had completed before the death occurred. Nonetheless, the ABC apologised to the family for not alerting them to the coincidence.
According to producer Laura Waters she and Lilley consider it important to push the boundaries with their work. Having worked in current affairs and documentary she feels that 'comedy is an even better platform for bringing up topics that are difficult for a culture to look at’. On the flipside, Waters says, she and Lilley generally don’t set out to make any particular social or philosophical statements. Instead, they explore characters and consider 'what it would be funny or challenging for them to go through’. If themes or serious moments emerge, it is as a by-product of this process. It’s interesting to see this at work in Summer Heights High, which does provide opportunities to reflect on themes such as education, social differences, human vanity and prejudice, all the while showing Lilley’s particular talent for mapping out our cultural and social sore points.
The song being rehearsed here was later remixed and released as a dance single. 'Naughty Girl’ was a success, peaking at number seven in the national ARIA music sales charts.
