Australia’s premiere playwright David Williamson’s trilogy of plays on community conferencing is now complete. ‘Charitable Intent’, the final play in the series, is currently playing at the Ensemble theatre.
Williamson has used the same conference convener, Jack Manning (Andrew Doyle), through the trilogy. On this occasion Manning’s arranges a conference to attempt to resolve the workplace dispute taking place at ‘Enabled and Caring’, a charity organization focused on assisting disabled children and their families.
Bryony (Kate Raison), the new CEO of ‘Enabled and Caring’, has implemented a new management style along with a number of structural and directional changes. These changes have polarised the workplace. Company veterans, Amanda (Denise Roberts) and Stella (Gael Ballantyne), accuse Bryony of workplace bullying. Public Relations head Guilia (Anna Crawford), Head of Human Resources Tamsyn (Anna Cottrell), and accounts worker Cassie (Catherine McGraffin) take Bryony’s side. It doesn’t take long for the conference to become heated, and Company chairman, Brian (Henri Szeps), is soon on the edge of his seat trying to sift through each new revelation that comes out.
‘Charitable Intent’ solidly takes its place with the two other strong productions in the trilogy, ‘Face to Face’ (1999) and ‘A Conversation’(2001). Human frailty is under the microscope in this final play. The audience witnesses Bryony lose her power and credibility when put to the test of the conference. Guilia, Cassie and Tamsyn are shown up as weak souls, who have backed the boss because that is where the power lies. For Amanda and Stella the conference is a victory, their complaints are finally heard and vindicated.
The play’s most impressive feature was that it felt so authentic. It could have been true of any number of workplaces. Williamson glosses over nothing, and the ending is earthy. No magic solutions are offered, and the difficulties of workplace politics remain.
The production is well directed by Sandra Bates, who has helmed all three plays. In a sense the plays have been anti-theatrical because the setting is so static, people sitting and talking in a conference. However the lack of physical movement and energy is overcome by the powerful emotions exposed.
The cast performed strongly. My pick on the night were the two leading performers and for that matter, antagonists, Kate Raison and Denise Roberts. The strength of Kate Raison’s performance lay in its restraint, in a role that could have so easily become melodramatic. Denise Roberts’s performance was heartfelt, as she captured the anguish of a woman who had been sidelined in her own workplace.