From skits to show, Law Revue 2025 did not overstay its welcome (take hints, Med Revue) in showcasing some of the boldest, talented people from the law community – wrapped in a sexy one-and-a-half-hour-long session so we could all get back to our teddy bears on time. The love child of students Charlie Butler and Jack Evans, ‘Twilight: New Moot’ watered down your perception of what the usually pretentious and somewhat frigid stereotype of a law tauira is. Instead, for three nights only, they were funny.
Traditionally at odds, even a med student Critic Te Ārohi spoke to said the show was actually understandable, soothing universal concern for the health of their funny bones. Overall, the skits were as sporadic as ketamine-induced AI slop on Insta reels. It ranged from fish hooks in a urethra, exam worries, UNESCO, 1080 poison, and breathas on the PlayStation; to the struggle of getting a graduate job and typical uni struggles with mould, drug addiction, touch starvation, and being pissed on. All amusing and stylish, but the audience admittedly risked overdosing on whiplash – starting with the opening sketch that claimed that Al Qaeda inspired this year’s Law Revue.
Audience members we spoke to commented that it was nice to see more acting than dancing compared to last year. A very raunchy dance number was on the entrée for this year's law buffet, setting the mood for a very tasteful evening.
The Habeas Chorus, Laws' version of Sex/Sexytet, was immaculate as ever in their song ‘Dumb Ways to Cheat’ (à la ‘Dumb Ways To Die’), and the rest of their repertoire. However, musically-inclined spectators did question the lack of backing vocals, and felt there was a bit of awkwardness without one. Bravely staring down front-row seated reviewers, they shamelessly sang, insisting that “there were worse things to joke about than sex” (in possible reference to an earlier review…). Critic notes that there was a clever balance of creative skits and sex jokes throughout the production.
The best part of the whole thing in Critic’s circle-jerk opinion: our very own digital archivist Will Wray. Video director extraordinaire captured intimate moments with unprecedented skill. Holy fuck it was pristine. Glorious, beautiful. Critic wept with joy and laughter as former Capping Show lead Jack Hanan made his way to Pound Town. It was totally plot relevant, they swear.
Then there was the infamous Company Law Exam, whose last minute postponement after a leak was the biggest law controversy of the year. The successful comedic punching bag (and elephant in the room) was acknowledged head-on in song, video, and stage. Tired of beating the old horse (9/11 jokes), this recent scandal has entered the stables, ready to be whipped for years to come. We fear (with popcorn in hand) that this event, much like the jelly wrestling law camp, lecturer involvement in law camp, and the year it was cancelled for good, will enter the law pantheon and never leave.
Of course, Lawrat (Jasper Okane), the self-proclaimed “Creative Consultant”, brought his own flair, putting a twist on Taiki Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows – bringing out the lecturers from their own shadows of being retired theatre kids. And they looove to suck.
With a lot more queerness than previous years, the whole production definitely had an indie Y2K vibe with amazing fashion and wardrobe. They had their very own Charlie XCX, who created another hit ‘House of Lords’ tune railing against the recent anti-trans UK Supreme Court ruling, and challenging the law's authority over gender identity. The production even ended with the main lovers breaking apart, with ‘Bella’ and her fem best mate ‘Jayjay’ falling in love and scissoring into the sunset. Winston Peters probably would have thought this show was “woke”. We thought it was awesome. Rock on.
While Lawrat's cameo made us deeply nostalgic, the consensus was that this is the best Law Revue in recent years: entertaining, easy to follow, and well-executed, apart from minor audio issues. Props to you Law Revue, it looks like you’ve taken the crown of the best revue of the year.