Review: Top Silk at Ensemble Theatre

Review by Anja Bless 

The line between morality and justice is one easily blurred in the legal world, especially when it starts getting mixed with politics and the personal lives of some of Sydney’s top lawyers. Top Silk, written by acclaimed Australian playwright David Williamson, explores the murky world of former campus radicals navigating the legal profession in the midst of corruption and political conservatism in late 1980s Sydney. Part legal and part family drama, the current production showing at Ensemble Theatre is directed by Mark Kilmurry and stars Rachel Gordon as Jane Fredericks, a legal aid lawyer who needs to help her friend, Eddie O’Donnell (Jeremy Waters) out of a sticky spot, Nicholas Brown as her husband Trevor Fredericks, one of Sydney’s top barrister who’s gotten a little too comfortable in his harbourside mansion and thinks he could save the ailing Labor Party, and Samir Nasser as Mark Fredericks, their academically challenged son with a strong moral conscience. It’s a quick witted and dynamic production which, while not one of Williamson’s strongest works, still captures the distinct feeling of the debauchery and moral corruption of ‘80’s Sydney. 

The set design by Ailsa Paterson gives the room a courtroom feel, while helping to transition seamlessly from the loungeroom of the Fredericks family, to the visitor cells of O’Donnell’s incarceration facility, to the shady back offices of Parliament. Jamie Oxenbould as Tony Turner does well to capture the sleazy superiority of a politician on the up, and his interactions with Gordon as Tony and Jane trade blows are great to watch. O’Donnell and Gordon’s scenes also stand out in the production, capturing the tenderness of old friends and lovers while O’Donnell also provides some much needed comic relief. Another notable mention should go to Thomas Campbell, whose portrayal of the pseudo-Rupert Murdoch character, Paul Bradley, is terrifying to behold. Campbell carries on stage all the sheer power and confidence of a man who is about to have Australian politics in his pocket, and Trevor Fredericks is no match. Brown’s portrayal of Fredericks also does well to capture a man who can’t decide what he really wants, but at times his delivery of dialogue comes across too evenly patterned compared to the vivaciousness of Gordon as his sharp and determined wife. 

The costuming by Paterson and composition and sound design by Madeleine Picard should also be noted for their instant transportation of the audience and performers to their 1980s setting, with one audience member heard commenting ‘Gosh, it takes you back, doesn’t it?’. However, while the performance is enjoyable, tightly directed by Kilmurry with some strong performances, it is Williamson’s work itself that leaves questions unanswered. The overall message for audiences isn’t clear. Should we work to undo the corruption that underpins the messy connections between our legal system, media, and politics? Or is bribery, blackmail, and cheating justifiable for the right cause? Which morals should we be sticking to? Williamson offers no clear answer, but perhaps that’s the point. The waters are murky and full of sharks looking for a feed, swim at your own risk. 

Image Credit: Prudence Upton