Venue: Ensemble Theatre (Kirribilli NSW), Mar – Apr 27, 2024
Playwright: David Williamson
Director: Mark Kilmurry
Cast: Caitlin Burley, Emma Diaz, James Lugton, Georgie Parker, Kate Raison, John Wood
Images by Brett Boardman
Theatre review
Property developer Alex’s intentions of turning Wallis Heads into a millionaire’s playground, means that existing residents will no longer be able to afford their lives in the area. Local activist Penny however, will not submit to gentrification without a fight. David Williamson’s The Great Divide tells a familiar tale about Australian life. Its characters are somewhat generic, with dialogue that sounds more than a little obvious, but its belief in people power could prove inspiring.
Directed by Mark Kilmurry, The Great Divide is full of verve, almost boisterous in its energetic iteration of this latest David and Goliath story. Actor Georgie Parker is highly animated as Alex, strangely bereft of complexity, but entertaining nonetheless. Penny is played by Emma Diaz, who is thankfully more contemplative in approach. Caitlin Burley is memorable as Penny’s daughter Rachel, replete with teenage angst, and distinct with a certain audacity that is characteristic of her generation.
Set design by James Browne offers an abstract representation of an unsophisticated coastal town, with a dated aesthetic reminding us of spaces that opportunistic mercenaries are always scheming to usurp. Lights by Veronique Bennett are seldom ornamental, but effective in helping us navigate every shift in chronology. Music by Daryl Wallis is played mainly between scenes, to sustain our attentiveness, for this fast-paced piece about social consciousness.
The Great Divide longs for a fast disappearing Australia, where wealth is not the be all and end all. It wishes to see the voracity of the ultra wealthy be restricted, that their money is somehow unable to devour the integrity and dignity of those who have less. It wants our democracy to be resilient and incorruptible, that it would not be compromised and degraded by the crumbs of capitalism. This may seem a pipe dream, but until we can formulate something better, it is true that democracy remains the strongest weapon we have.
Suzy Goes See 