Rubbery Figures

Rubbery Figures was a satirical rubber puppet series and segment that screened in Australia in various forms from 1984 to 1990. The series ran on the ABC until 1988, when it was axed and subsequently revived as a segment on Seven Network's Fast Forward in April 1989.[1] It featured puppets of major political and social characters.[2]

Rubbery Figures
GenreAdult puppeteering
Political satire
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Release
Original networkABC
Seven Network

Production

The Rubbery Figures programs were made in the Melbourne film studio of Peter Nicholson, who also made the puppets themselves. Almost all the character voices for the puppets were performed by Melbourne voice actor Paul Jennings.[3]

Fast Forward's Rubbery Figures

Steve Vizard, the man behind Channel seven's Fast Forward had seen Rubbery Figures on the ABC and thought they would make a good point of difference from competing comedy sketch series. Due to budget constraints, Peter Nicholson semi autonomously produced five minute segments that could be inserted into the programme.[4] During this period the figures expanded into less current political satire; for example the puppets of Prime Minister Bob Hawke and then Treasurer Paul Keating played the parts of Captain Kirk and Mr Spock onboard the enterprise.[4]

Australian politicians

The primary characters of Rubbery Figures were politicians native to Australia. The Rubbery Figures political characters included:

International politicians

Rubbery Figures also satirised prominent world politicians of the time, among them were:

Comparison with Spitting Image

The Sunday Mail noted in 1988 that "People think creator Peter Nicholson borrowed the idea for Rubbery Figures from the British puppet show Spitting Image. But Nicholson quickly points out he created his puppets before Spitting Image was shown in Australia".[6] Nicholson told the Herald: "The programs are from slightly different traditions...Ours springs more from the newspaper political cartoon than the comedy tradition of Spitting Image. They are probably more gratuitous. Their people are a bit unkind. They set out to deliberately make people look terrible, whereas I think our people should look a bit redeemable".[7]

Music

In 1991, a music track called "The Recession Rap" with the rubbery figures was released.[8] The music and lyrics were written by David Atkin, Peter Benson and Troy Hazard, the music was produced by David Atkin and Peter Benson and the characters were sung by Paul Jennings.[9] It reached #60 on the ARIA Chart in August,[10] and was nominated for an Aria award in 1992.[11]

On Exhibition

Although no longer being viewed on television, the Figures appeared at several exhibitions in the 90's. In 1993 they were recast and refurbished to take part in "The Exhibition We Had To Have" at the National Gallery of Victoria as part of the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[12] In 1994 "The Rubbery Years" in conjunction with the National Museum ran for six months at Old Parliament House in Canberra.[13][14][15]

See also

References
  1. McLean, S (26 February 1989). "Rubbery Figures bounce from television exile To Seven". Sunday Mail.
  2. Carbines, Louise (18 January 1989). "'Rubbery Figures' aim at rebound after axe". The Age. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  3. "Paul Jennings - Celebrity Speakers". www.celebrityspeakers.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  4. Bedwell, Steve (2007). Vizard Uncut. Melbourne University Publishing. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-522-85474-9.
  5. "How TV satire died in Australia". Guide. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  6. Baird, D (4 September 1988). "Rubbery figures of fun". Sunday Mail.
  7. Courtis, B (8 March 1988). "Rubbery, but redeemable". Herald.
  8. Keane, Anthony (16 September 2017). "Here's why Australia's economic growth story is worth singing about". Adelaide now. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  9. "Rubbery Figures". nicholsoncartoons.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  10. Scott, Gavin (3 August 2016). "This Week In 1991: August 4, 1991". Chart Beats. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  11. "1992 ARIA Awards Winners". www.aria.com.au. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  12. Thieberger, Victoria (1 April 1993). "Giving form to `80s waste". The Age. p. 16.
  13. "Rubbing rubbery shoulders". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 13 June 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  14. "One character who's still battling to stay afloat". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 19 March 1994. p. 4. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  15. Macklin, Robert (2 February 1994). "Rubbery figures of the '80s back in the limelight". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). p. 13. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
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