David Williamson plays at the Ensemble Theatre are becoming quite the common occurrence but Top Silk would have to be one of Williamson’s older plays to play at the venue in recent times, first premiering in 1989. Centred around an increasingly corrupt legal family in Australia who are continually enticed to do more and more dodgy things until they eventually break, the play feels particularly relevant in the context of the many recent ICAC inquiries that have engulfed both politics and the legal profession. While Williamson’s writing has evolved over the years, what has remained constant is his clear despair at property developers, with this play featuring a healthy amount of property developer jibes, which continue to be present in his more recent plays which have premiered at Ensemble too.

The play centres around the Fredericks family, with highly regarded QC Trevor seeking to make the move into politics and eventually into an attorney general role, while his wife Jane is a legal aid lawyer who never crosses lines until she meets her ex-boyfriend Eddie, who is on trial for drug possession. This forces Jane to cross a line in terms of defending him by trying to bribe an officer to make the charge go away and a whole lot of chaos ensues. Meanwhile, Trevor is drawn into the world of a powerful media mogul, Paul Bradley, who is very clearly modelled on a particular real-life player in the industry, as he seeks to further his political ambitions. As the play progresses, it becomes clear that no one is above the moral bankruptcy of these spheres, with the various political, legal and media figures revealing their own dastardly involvement in the corrupt world that these characters are surrounded in. At the same time, the corruption begins to put pressure on the Fredericks’ marriage, while their teenage son Mark finds himself caught between his parents and forging his own path. The family dynamic provides an interesting counterpoint to the legal and political machinations, particularly as Trevor becomes increasingly focused on his own ambitions while Jane wrestles with her conscience.

The play is incredibly incisive and does not feel dated at all, instead feeling modern and quite hilarious. Williamson is a master of pulling his characters together and weaving a narrative around those on stage and he does so exceptionally well in this play. The writing is just so clever and made this lawyer laugh at many moments in its striking incisiveness and relevance to the modern day. There is something particularly amusing about watching a play written in 1989 make observations about corruption and political ambition that still feel so familiar today. The production also does a good job of embracing the 1980s setting, with Ailsa Paterson’s set complementing the action on stage, while Kelsey Lee’s lighting and Madeleine Picard’s subtle score help establish the period. Mark Kilmurry’s direction keeps the action moving at a good pace, allowing Williamson’s dialogue to flow between the various locations and characters.

The acting is also strong, with Nicholas Brown doing a great job as the striking Trevor, while Rachel Gordon is a great foil as his sometimes estranged wife, Jane. Samir Nasser does a wonderful job of bringing out the teenage angst in his role as their son Mark, providing an important link between his parents while Jeremy Waters is fantastic as Eddie, bringing a great deal of humanity to the character, while Thomas Campbell does a superb job in his role as Paul Bradley and also brings plenty of humour to his role as the judge. Jamie Oxenbould is fantastic as the cunning power broker Tony Turner, while Laurence Coy rounds out the cast strongly.

The only part of the show that really falls flat is the woeful writing in the court scene at the end when Trevor represents Eddie. The ensuing dialogue is full of cliches and completely unrealistic, which somewhat cheapens the rest of the theatrical experience. Also of note was that the prosecution and defence were on the wrong sides of the judge’s bench, which was an unfortunate distraction, but this was ultimately a small blip on an excellent production. 

Overall, this was an incredibly clever play that felt relevant even despite its premiere nearly 40 years ago. It was exceptionally well acted and, aside from some very poor writing in the court scene at the end, felt strikingly relevant and was really quite funny and clever. Williamson is a master of weaving his characters together and he absolutely nailed it in this one, showing immense skill in his writing as he highlighted how everyone in this story was a bit corrupt. Definitely worth a watch for the legal eagles in Sydney and a very fun addition to Ensemble’s season.

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Top Silk plays at the Ensemble Theatre until 12 September. For more information, click here. 

All photo credits: Prudence Upton