Matt Harvey’s Wage Against the Machine is sharp, witty and incisive. His show was both hilarious and shockingly brilliant—emphasis on ‘shocking.’
This show is a must-see for any lefty or those the system has worked over and left hung out to dry. Harvey excelled at spotlighting a modern-day kleptocracy and shady business and government practices that see the community and its members as a cash cow or something that can be abused with no recompense, for the power elites’ personal gain. This is counterbalanced by his not-so-subtle personal resistance to systematic oppression.
Harvey’s real and moving story about the intentionally illegal Robodebt scheme and its progenitors is a narrative that goes a long way to defining the times we live in. This scheme destroyed people’s lives. Many vulnerable Australian victims took their lives over this scheme whilst members of the same government and their friends rorted the political system to the financial benefit of themselves. Harvey provides one such example of a Government Minster who allegedly (trial still ongoing) embezzled tens of millions of dollars, remorselessly. Robotdebt’s destructive tale needs to be kept being told. Especially as the media cycle has ruined the medium to long-term memories of the general public. It is heartening to see artists reminding the public of these heinous crimes perpetrated by our Government because, as a famous philosopher once said, those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Overall, the performance was well-structured and ended with much hilarity. It was also well balanced with some lighter tales from his time working at a sex shop and other jobs.
Harvey is both politically dangerous and a dangerously funny performer. The only issue is that many these days can’t seem to grapple with just how rigged the system is, and the average punter may prefer to keep their heads in the sand. The neo-liberal zeitgeist has conditioned us to the idea of getting ahead at all costs, and WA’s more conservative politics meant that his show was a tougher sell than in some other states in Australia. Harvey crowd work may have been impacted by this. He would ask a question of the audience and then jump in and answer for it straight away. It was not clear if this was a rhetorical device or because he vibed the audience on the night, the majority of whom seemed reserved and not up for much for playing along. This deprived me and potentially others in the audience of the time needed to build the courage to shout out a reply.
A criminal system makes criminals of us all, so the world and Australia need more artists like Harvey if we are ever going to make the government work for us and for companies not to work people to death, like the worker-victims of his Amazon stories.
C.J. O’HARTE
Wage Against the Machine was presented by State of Play and FRINGE WORLD from 17 – 25 Jan 2025 at the State Theatre Centre of WA.
