In David Williamson’s new play THE SOCIAL LADDER,
Mandy Bishop plays Williamson’s latest very ambitious
protagonist Katie Norris. Katie has worked for a long time in
the arts admin world and has made a good life for herself.
She and her husband Roger have moved from their inner
west home in to a fresh, modern apartment in waterside
Kirribilli. Katie, however, is not grateful for
what she has, but wants to move further up the ladder.
There is a position available on an arts foundation board
run by well known arts administrators, collectors and
philanthropists Charles and Catherine Mallory. Making her
move, Katie invites this celebrated couple over for a dinner
party along with old friends, Laura and Ben. Katie hopes
that the Mallory’s will be impressed that Roger and her are
mixing in such good company, with Ben being a well known
filmmaker. Also, in another move to impress, Katie hires a
classic Arthur Boyd painting to hang promptly in her apartment for that added wow factor.
This is another well crafted play by Australia ’s most senior
and established playwright. A master satirist, he scores
bullseyes with his shots at the pretentiousness and sense of
entitlement that those in the upper echelons of the arts
world display, and the calculating
way of those who aspire to work within it.
such a world.
I just have a few things about the play that didn’t appeal. I felt that both the Bollywood dance sequence and the occasional fairly ordinary joke did not fit in with the general tone of the play.
Janine Watson’s, with Jules Billington as assistant, helmed
the play’s premiere production well, and there were a lot of
good touches. Her design team excelled. We took our seats
prior to the play to see Veronique Benett’s attractive set of
Katie and Roger’s living room. Appropriately, the apartment
looked more like a curated showroom than a unit dwelling,
and a chandelier even gave it an ostentatious quality.
Interestingly, though the play was about a dinner party,
there was no formal dining table.
Benett’s costumes reflected the characters well. For instance, Katie’s choice of outfit reflected her great need to impress.
Matt Cox lit the stage well, and Clare Hennessy’s soundscape underscored the action evocatively.
A play is only as good as its characters. and this time we
are in the company of three very identifiable couples, well
performed by the cast.
Mandy Bishop impresses as the try hard Katie who musters
all the forces she can to make further inroads in her career.
Fierce and quite the warrior!
Johnny Nasser is excellent as her put upon husband, Roger.
Clear as day, Katie wears the pants in their marriage. Katie orchestrates the whole night and Roger is her unhappy servant.
As the emotionally absent investment banker Charles
Mallory, Andrew McFarlane gives my favourite performance
of the night. McFarlane is very believable as this aloof,
hollow man who says things like, ‘Ethics are like vintage
cars. Lovely to look at but terribly expensive to maintain if
you actually want to get anywhere.’`
Sarah Chadwick plays his condescending, British
expat wife Catherine, a heavyweight in the art
world.
The third couple, Laura and Ben, are caught up in this toxic
world. Whilst Katie takes up the big fight in this play, also Jo
Downing as left wing dance teacher Laura, and Matt Minto
as out of work filmmaker Ben, do a lot of fighting of their
own; expressing their disillusionment with their friends’ grovelling, and their contempt for Charles and Catherine who hold their positions in the arts world more for the prestige and power that comes with it than a genuine commitment to nurturing the arts.
Verdict. It’s not up there with my favourite David Williamson play however it still entertains, and gives an authentic portrait of a world he is, no doubt, very familiar with.
The Ensemble theatre production of David Williamson’s
THE SOCIAL LADDER, directed by Janine Watson, is
playing the Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli until the 14th March
2026.
Production photography by Phil Erbacher.
