Caitlin Burley and Georgie Parker in The Great Divide. Photo: Brett Boardman
In this, the play that has once again coaxed Australia’s most prolific playwright out of retirement, David Williamson takes aim at greedy property developers, with a side swipe at slut shaming. The action takes place in fictional Wallis Heads, a coastal town boasting golden sands and a laidback way of life. The picture-postcard epitome of the Aussie idyll. But it’s under threat. Enter Alex Whittle (Georgie Parker), an immensely wealthy and ruthless property developer who wants to build hotels and high-rise towers for those who can afford luxury apartments, monstrosities which will, of course, change the character of Wallis Heads as well as cast shadows over the beach in the afternoon, a la Surfers Paradise. Local resident Penny Poulter (Emma Diaz) is not happy, but as Alex remarks to Mayor Alan Bridger (John Wood), she’s a nobody. Who’s going to listen to objections from someone who’s just a shelf-stacker at the supermarket? Especially when Alex reckons she has the editor of the local paper onside and the Mayor is all for development, eyeing business opportunities for himself and the town.
So the stage is set for a battle: working class underdog versus big business.
And single mother Penny has battles on the homefront, too. Her 17-year-old daughter Rachel (Caitlin Burley) is, in the way of many teenagers, not one to take into account her mother’s feelings. Empathy is in short supply and, besides, Rachel has her own ambitions: she is a talented surfer and determined to succeed.
Penny begins rallying her troops, even enlisting the somewhat frayed (and about to go bankrupt) local newspaper editor, but Alex has a brilliant plan to shut down her down. A scholarship to a university in California is on offer, and Rachel is a shoo-in – but only if her mother drops her campaign. And the waters are about to get even murkier – doesn’t everyone, even a supermarket shelf-stacker have something to hide? – but let’s not spoil things for those who haven’t yet seen the play.
Suffice to say that this is classic Williamson. The topic is serious, but it’s billed as a social comedy and, as you would expect, there are plenty of good one-liners. One in particular sums up The Great Divide: ‘Aspiration versus preservation.’
Alex is, of course, truly awful and Parker – dressed in a white trouser suit that screams Gold Coast – does her proud, making her manipulative and cringeworthy. She demeans her long-suffering secretary Grace (Kate Raison), whose own costume reminded me of something my shorthand teacher wore back when the world was much younger; tries to shut down what’s left of the free press (James Lutgen does a great job as the editor and, later in the piece, as a talk-show host); and barely listens to the Mayor, who’s no saint.
One of the questions this play highlights is how far can (or will) an individual go to stand up for what is right. This a dilemma that Diaz’s Penny confronts and it is a difficult one. Without giving the game away, a decision that her daughter makes is pivotal to the plot and Burley gives us a very believable and spirited Rachel. A lovely performance.
Leading this great ensemble cast is director Mark Kilmurry, who is delighted to have The Great Divide at The Ensemble. ‘As usual,’ he says, ‘David has his finger on the pulse of what’s current in Australian society and has created a play out of fear of losing the very things we cherish in our communities. Money talks and it takes real strength and courage to stand in its way – and perhaps personal sacrifice.’
And a word or two from the playwright: ‘When I was a kid in the ’50s, Australia was the second-most egalitarian country in the developed world. The difference in salary between a worker and a managing director seldom exceeded a factor of five. Now, with Australia the third-least egalitarian country in the developed world, the ratio is more like a factor of 200. We are now the country of the Great Divide, where a minority enjoy a lifestyle of unimagined opulence and the rest of Australia can only look on, and the country in which most of the younger generation have been effectively locked out of home ownership for life. The efficient manner in which our neoliberal ideology, embraced by both our major parties, works to make the wealthy ever wealthier seemingly can’t be stopped.’
But a playwright such as David Williamson can at least hold a mirror up to our society and its deficiencies. I wonder what subject will next coax him out of ‘retirement’. Negative gearing? Toll roads? Meanwhile, don’t miss The Great Divide. It’s on until 27 April.
Tickets:$43-99
https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/the-great-divide/
