Those supreme tsars of political satire have once again stormed into town with their uproarious brand of lampoonery. Regular revue larrikins Jonathan Biggins, Phillip Scott and Drew Forsythe are joined by the incandescent Blazey Best for a night of hilarious mockery and savage swipes at the sacred cows of our political establishment.

No one is immune from their biting ridicule, cloaked in ribald humour yet disguising an uneasy barb beneath.

The pearls of comic genius are still there in this year's Wharf Revue. Biggins gives a lizard-like performance as the budgie-smugglered Tony Abbott, slithering to I'm Mad, a thinly veiled parody of Michael Jackson's Bad. Whether impersonating the late John Clarke in a Clarke and Dawe skit with Forsythe or caricaturing Donald Trump, Biggins is the master of mimicry.

Forsythe is in fine voice as a leather jacket-toting Malcolm Turnbull or a manic Senator Malcolm Roberts tilting wildly at wind machines to Don Quixote's songs from Man of La Mancha. Maestro of the ivories Scott proves himself to be a keen observer of the fact that hair maketh the man with his impersonations of Derryn Hinch and Kim Jong-un.

Best asserts her place in the team with sharply sketched characterisations of Jacqui Lambie, Julie Bishop, Ivanka Trump and a snide snipe at James Ashby, the right-hand man of Forsythe's gormless Pauline Hanson.

Not every moment hits the mark. The Insiders sketch with Gerard Henderson (Scott) and David Marr (Biggins), though cleverly depicted, seems somewhat vapid in its script, adding little to the evening other than a familiar glimpse of the two diametrically opposed guests of the ABC's program.

Canberra audiences live at the epicentre of political shenanigans. Constantly within sight of the flagpole above the federal Parliament, they are astutely aware of the goings-on in the house and the characters that play out the theatrics of question time. The finely honed, cleverly researched and impeccably performed Wharf Revue is guaranteed an informed and appreciative audience.

This year, however, this feast of fun-poking irreverence leaves tinges of sour taste amid the peals of laughter.

The absurdity of the Australian language and values test is patently apparent. Biggins' Peter Dutton has a brush with Anh Do (Scott) revealing the grim intransigence of the former cop. Video artist Todd Decker's Press Briefings of History with Louis XVI, Vlad the Impaler and Queen Elizabeth I are all imbued with Trumpisms, and the final fine romance between Donald Trump (Biggins) and Vladimir Putin (Forsythe) lends an ominous tone to Let's Face the Music and Dance.

The Wharf Revue is once again a must-see show on the theatre calendar. Satire is its weapon and folly its victim. Perhaps this year, The Patriotic Rag has made a larger tear in the fabric of political melee with the usual marvellous mockery but a much sharper bite.