It is virtually impossible for Australia's satirical kings to fade into the background even if they have temporarily shelved their regular ratings-winning TV show The Chaser's War On Everything. 

Not only have they replaced The War with their second live stage production titled The Chaser’s Age Of Terror Variety Hour, the remnants of possibly the best prank in Australian television history still consume the news and their personal lives.

The now legendary fake motorcade prank staged at the APEC summit in Sydney last September drew media coverage worldwide and led to 11 of The Chaser team facing court in July on charges of entering a restricted area without justification.

Cast member Andrew Hansen (second from the right) escaped any charges because he wasn’t part of the gag but there’s no hint of remorse on behalf of his cast members.

"We only really feel bad for the extras caught up in it all," Andrew Hansen told timeOUT.

"It’s fine that Chas (Licciardello) and Julian (Morrow) were caught up in it, in fact I hope they go to jail.

"But it wasn’t so pleasant for the nine crew and extras that were part of the motorcade."

Hansen is one of seven members of the all-conquering comedy team.

He is known for his character pieces The Surprise Spruiker, Clive The Too Loud Commuter, Mr Ten Questions and especially his satirical songs on the piano.

The most controversial was The Eulogy Song (with music by Hansen and lyrics by Chris Taylor), which satirised the lives of several deceased celebrities including Peter Brock, Princess Diana, Donald Bradman and Steve Irwin. The song, originally performed for a musical comedy production (called Dead Caesar) which Hansen starred in months before its TV appearance, initially received no negative coverage, Hansen says.

"Even ABC national only received three complaints after the broadcast," he says.

"It was only the next day when the media got hold of it that we started to get widely criticised.

"I remember hearing people on talkback radio say how much of a disgrace it was and most of them hadn’t even seen or heard the sketch.

"John Howard and Kevin Rudd even took time out of their campaigns to talk about it."

These well-publicised moments are just a taste of the quality humour The Chaser team is capable of and their new stage production is sure to follow suit.

The Chaser's Age Of Terror Variety Hour stars Dominic Knight, Craig Reucassel, Chas Licciardello, Julian Morrow and Hansen, with regular Chaser members Chris Taylor and Charles Firth opting to take on other side projects.And they've kept the details of the production hush-hush not just for the element of surprise but as Andrew Hansen admitted it was only "written at the very last minute".

One thing’s for sure during their first performance in Cairns, The Chaser boys will find ways to poke fun at Australia’s new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, as they believe his honeymoon is well and truly over.

"Well, I don't think he had a honeymoon anyway," Andrew says.

"We've been getting stuck into him well before he became Prime Minister.

"It will just increase now and really he has one of those faces that says 'please satirise me'."

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