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German politics and Cold War hostilities take to the stage in Democracy
The scheming and duplicity of German politicians in the 1970s doesn't sound like a good springboard for riveting theatre.
But Geoff Kelso insists that Democracy, which examines the tumultuous reign of West Germany's first left-wing Chancellor, the charismatic Willy Brandt (played by Philip Quast), provides the ideal lens to examine how the Australian political system operates.
In Democracy, Kelso plays a young political advisor, Günter Guillaume, who is brought in to improve the public image of Brandt. But little does the Chancellor know that the man he trusts is in fact an East German spy, whose ultimate mission is the destruction of democracy itself.
Kelso says Michael Frayn's play reveals how the strengths of democracy can also be its Achilles heel.
"Democracy is about lots of different voices arguing with each other," he says. "It's infuriating listening to all these voices, but the alternative is that no one is listened to - a totalitarian dictatorship."
Which, as Kelso points out, was still a fresh, painful memory for Germans in the early 1970s.
Kelso is reluctant to say what conclusion Frayn's play makes about the durability of democracy when it comes under pressure. But the shadow cast over Western democracies by the threat of terrorism suggests little has changed apart from the identity of the 'threat'.
"I think it is fragile," Kelso says. "You do have to keep arguing about democracy and not get complacent. You ignore it, hmmmm, at your peril."
Democracy might be Kelso's first stab at German parliamentary politics, but the Perth actor is no stranger to the dark arts of high office.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Kelso honed his comedy skills working with political satirists such as John Clarke and Max Gillies. In 2003, he played Australian wartime Prime Minister John Curtin in the Perth Theatre Company's production of Shadow of the Eagle.
Kelso says the leap to drama "was not a huge jump. Comedy gave me a sense of awareness of the audience and making sure that whatever drama I'm doing is clear and not obscure".
Despite immersing himself in politics for so long, Kelso says he is not a cynic, only "very, very sceptical". As much as you wish politicians would go away, Kelso says they are a necessary part of democratic society.
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Maybe it's a lot worse in totalitarian societies where you can only get one face," he says.
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At least we get a variety of dickheads. And we can say what we like about them and tell them what we think to their face."
