David Williamson’s "The Perfectionist"
David Williamson’s “The Perfectionist” is another fast-paced and witty play written by Australia’s best-known playwright.
Renowned for his ability to hold a mirror to our flaws and foibles, Williamson outdoes himself in this modern story about whether women really can ‘have it all…
Barbara's career and interests have been sidelined with the birth of her three children and her husband, Stuart, who has spent nearly a decade trying to finish his thesis. When Barbara employs a Danish babysitter by the name of Erik, she realises just how much of her ambition has been taken over by the notion of "Stuart's genius".
Prepared to ruffle some feathers, Barbara makes the decision to continue finishing her thesis whilst leaving the household duties with Stuart. But as Barbara regains confidence in herself and her career, she realises that she has lost touch with her children's lives and the audience is left to consider how modern society can juggle love, family and success all at once.
Contains Adult Themes
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Feedback/Comments
great play!
Very clever
Lead actress was superb
Very enjoyable
Very interesting and somewhat suits our times
Very long play. Not bad
It was thought-provoking, raw and emotional.
Very relevant to todays society
Interesting and well acted
Acting was excellent. A little long.
Really well done. A great performance by all.
Rebekah Carton was a stand-out performer.
Great acting and content
It’s an engaging and entertaining show. We enjoyed.
A super show well acted .. surprising performances from young actors
Terrific performance
Lovely production values
Female lead particularly impressive. Loved the play. Themes are still relevant today.
Impressive for a play written in the 80s - most of the themes covered are still very hot topics today! The acting was of a very high standard and I thoroughly enjoyed the show.
Fantastic seats, great performance by the female lead in particular.
excellent acting
Great show. A bit long though.
Well acted 40 year old play still relevant today
Very interesting play and hard to believe that it is over 40 years since first written. Whilst times have changed, the underlying issues have not. The female lead in particular was excellent.
Great acting, I was totally engaged.
Thought provoking, but a familiar story nonetheless. The female lead was terrific , and the “ parents “ were very good. I felt the male lead was not quite the standard. A treat being at the lovely old National Theatre
Rebekah Carton is outstanding as Barbara. She carries the show through some rather strong themes that I wasn't expecting - Alcoholism (not many scenes without alcohol), adultery and Mother-guilt. I don't think the synopsis actually outlines this play accurately as it was really nothing like I expected.
Overall the play flows well, however it is a bit long.
"The Perfectionist" is a wonderful theatrical show, drama that can be seen through many lenses and both many eyes, heard with many ears, and interpreted from many different angles.
It's a great thinking piece, a philosophical one, about what we as human beings take to be a meaning of life in the modern 20th and 22st century. Is it career? Is it parenting? Family? Success? How do we define and measure success? Is it our position in a society? What makes up that position? Is any of this real, or is it all superficial, imaginary, dependent on fad and trends?
What is love? What kinds of love we mean when we think of love?
Is intimacy "reserved" for one person only? Or can there be more than one? Can there be love triangles? What about open relationships?
What if something is interesting but perhaps may not be for long? Or can it be for long? What if it's unstable? But what if what we already have may become unstable as well? How can we know?
And, of course, can we know the future? How can we make decisions if we have imperfect knowledge of the present and the future?
Oh, and do we live superficial lives and have we become the prisoners of other people's dreams and aspirations and fears and personal dramas?
Very good drama.
Very good acting as well! All actors were good and great to see and enjoy.
(One issue I had was that I could not always understand the main male actor. He has a distinct soft voice and speaks a bit faster (and in bursts) then what his microphone and the theatre's loudspeakers and my ears could pick up. I was many times struggling to understand what he was saying and had to rebuild the meaning from those parts that I could understand. He also tends to be a bit less expressive in his face and gestures, which didn't help either. Perhaps he had a stage fright that day, I don't know... It didn't take away much from the quality of the play, buy didn't help either...)
The show triggered interesting conversations during the break and after the show.
All in all, this was an excellent play and I'm glad I saw it.
Fun
Great venue and snack bar was good. Seats comfortable. David Williamson always a long play. Acting solid all round, male lead seemed to rush how delivery.
Important questions raised in the play.
An excellent performance by everyone. Barbara's interaction with the audience was engaging and Erik's Danish accent and mannerisms really hit the spot. A most enjoyable play with very polished and professional actors.
Interesting play! Written over 40 years ago and very little has changed!
Engaging play in a wonderful setting (the National Theatre, St Kilda). Musical stings were rather distracting, as was the lead actor's large head and speech impediment :)
Flora. Well acted engaging play examining the changing roles of married partners in the 1980’s
Thought provoking take on the foibles of modern life
Fantastic play
Great performances. Many messages.
Play a little long at 2.45 hours including interval
Fantastic performance by all actors! The play really highlighted how womens lives were expected to be in the early years. Lots of great messages in this play. Loved it!
The play certainly reflected the thinking of the early 80s where women believed it should be possible to do it all. 40 years on the lens we watch this play is so vastly different making it
ideal to see how far things have come.
We absolutely loved David Williamsons, The Perfectionist.
Brilliant performance from all actors and it was wonderful to be able to see it at The National Theatre. Thank you
An fantastic preformance by all actors but the main actor was so outstandingly talented . would recommend this play to the younger generation.
The venue was fantastic, easy to access by tram.
The actors brought the David Williamson play to life brilliantly, making the relatively long performance fly by. It was a thought provoking and enjoyable experience that I can highly recommend .
I really enjoyed it
Very deep subjects dealt with in this Williamson play
LOVELY VENUE and interesting flash back to relationships into the 70s main actress was wonderful.
Fantastic! So well acted, kept me completely glued to my seat during the fairly long run time. They did a great job of bringing this 70's play into a contemporary environment. I would happily recommend others head to see this play, they won't regret it. (PS - I spent most of the second half coveting that gorgeous green sofa ;).
Very thought provoking and acting was fabulous. Slightly too long.
Great okay . Well acted . Would recommmrnd
A always David Williamsons plays are so thought provoking. I really enjoyed the play and the main actress lifted the show to the next level. Thank you.
Really enjoyed the cast and performance of The Perfectionist. Have recently seen Rebekah Carton in Cygnets, and think she is an incredibly talented young woman. Well done to all involved.