On seeing LUNCH WITH BERNAYS, one wonders whether The Gruen Transfer should have been called The Bernays Source.

Like Victor Gruen, Edward Bernays was an Austrian-American, but rather being an architect of shopping malls, was the architect of modern propaganda and public relations.

With the trials and tribulations of the current pandemic, we’ve been hearing a lot about herd immunity, but uppermost in Bernays’ mind was herd instinct and the way it can be manipulated and manufactured.

Engineered consent was a catchphrase of this king of spin and he knew how to coerce. It was more than a lucky stroke that Lucky Strike under his tutelage coerced women to smoke, citing it was better to ingest smoke than sweets. They were persuaded that lung decay was better than tooth decay and weight gain.

Such preposterous success attracted the interest of government and political parties, a legacy that continues today with the ascension of spin doctors and handlers and influencers.

Playwright Bryce Bofinger has fashioned a burlesque around this brilliant brand ambassador, an interview with a journalist over pastries prompting flashbacks to his influences, which include his uncle, Sigmund Freud.

Leading a quintet cast, Pat Mandziy portrays Bernays with flash harry showmanship, snake oil charm and blatant braggadocio. The remaining quartet – Alana Louise, Natasha Cheng, Luke Visentin and Alexandra Rigby – do doubling duty as fathers, daughters, spouses, shrinks, industrialists and Nazis.

Direction from Sam Spring is languidly loose allowing Remi McKay, responsible for set, costume and props to steal the show.

LUNCH WITH BERNAYS plays till June 24 at

The Bordello Room
Level 4, Kings Cross Hotel
Potts Point,NSW 2000 Australia + Google Map

View Venue Website