Thoughts on Don's Party

I attended this revisiting of one of David Williamson's earlier (and considered by many to be one of his best) about a week ago - primarily to understand the seemingly immense popularity of this playwright. The play has aged fairly well, considering, and much of the coarse language surprisingly retains its startling quality ('cunt features' was my personal favourite). It follows the events of the night of the 1969 election, where everything is looking up for Don and his fellow Labor Party would-be revolutionaries - until the inevitable happens and their spirits tumble. It is a revealing examination of the male psyche, the political mindset of those on both the left and right, as well as the subtle ways the 'big picture' can effect everyday people (and vice versa). In many ways it is still a relevant play, and a piece that deserves new examination.

That said, I am unsure as to what the MTC was hoping to achieve with this production. Peter Evans thwarted almost every opportunity to breathe life into this piece. The set was bright and colourful - almost stereotypically '70s. In any case, the layout was wasted as it sprawled out across the vacuous Playhouse stage - sucking the energy out of every exchange. Indeed, the pacing was laboriously slow and most of the comedy seemed to be focused on the paraphenalia, customs and fashions popular in the era - a move which unnecessarily devalued the human stories (and made the more cathartic moments in the second act seem awkward).

The performances were solid, particularly Mandy McElhinney - but were still often the presented as the broad characters Williamson has done to death in the past (it was as if each actor/character felt they needed their own particular 'quirk'). In this and many other ways it almost had the feeling of farce - but it should have been more than that (and it made for a pretty poorly paced farce at that).

From the knowing laughs, 'oohs' and 'aahs' of the audience (I shit you not) i got the feeling this was a production for everyone who fondly remembered the original to revisit it in a fairly accomodating form. This is a philosophy which does not serve the MTC well. In short: I was pretty bored.