Brisbane review: Williamson Ponders Over The Great Ozzie Divide

By Lilian Harrington

Production: The Great Divide

Writer: David Williamson

Director: Elizabeth Morris

Company: Villanova Players

Location: The Ron Hurley Theatre   28 Tallowwood Drive, Seven Hills.

Season: 23 May- 1 June (7: 30pm. evenings and 2 pm. matinees)

Bookings: www.villanovaplayers.com

It’s punchy, poignant and persuasive, and highlights concerns that locals have on some social and environmental issues written in 2024,The Great Divide is the most recent work from Australian writer David Williamson, and  Villanova Players, under the direction of Elizabeth Morris premiers it in Brisbane. Williamson has always had a keen interest in local issues. He’s not afraid to use the stage to speak out and use the comedy genre to make his point in an engaging and entertaining format.  

Williamson has set his play in Wallis Heads, a fictional seaside town in coastal Australia. It‘s a sharp comment on human greed and inequality.  An ever familiar story of an ambitious developer, Alex Whittle, a potential mayoral candidate, plans to make the peaceful seaside haven into a top Gold Coast style tourist town. Her application to build a golf course has been agreed to by the Mayor but she plans to change the area into a glitzy, high- rise resort for the rich. These are changes the local Greens do not want.

Penny Poulter (Jane Binstead) is a supermarket shelf -stacker and solo mother to a seventeen year old daughter, Rachel Poulter (Jade Davis), a talented young surfer. Her mother wants her to study and make something positive of her life, but Alex Whittle (Carissa), her mother’s ambitious opponent, offers her a scholarship to study surfing at an American University. This is an exciting prospect but there’s a catch, the scholarship is only for one year; it would mean that Penny would have to foot the expensive bill for Rachel to complete her overseas studies.  Apart from this tactic from Alex, who is a very forceful, prickly woman, and uncompromising with her own staff, someone who will leave no stone unturned, i.e. she finds “dirt” on Penny that she can use against her in an effort to win the mayoral race. Penny fights back and despite the unwanted publicity in the press engineered by Alex, and the upset over the sports bursary which Alex has offered Rachel, she digs in and works to protect the state she loves and save her town. This is a very poignant and important statement on”the haves”  and “the have nots” in Australia.

Jane Binstead played Penny Poulter, with confidence and belief and the audience could relate to her reactions as a solo parent. Her response to Rachel’s outbursts contrasted with the colourful conflict between Alex Whittle (Carissa) and herself; she showed how “the small person” in a town can have a voice and influence developments. Her naïve, teenage daughter, becomes a pawn in the conflict between herself and Alex, when the business woman extends her influence over the teenager.  As an impetuous teenager Jade Davis plays Rachel with convincing form.

The minimalistic stage set used an overhead to indicate a location. The set wasn’t changed, but it was spot lit in areas to indicate different settings. There were some blocking issues initially, which could be addressed and first night nerves led to some lapses in diction in places. Further, there were few costume changes, when one would have expected a high flying executive such as Alex Whittle, to have been very dressed up for the mayoral race and the Mayor (Troy Bullock) went without the traditional tie. This new Williamson production of The Great Divide continues at Villanova Players until June 1, a don’t miss.