Rupert

We had seen the 7.30 segment dealing with David Williamson's play Rupert, so when we saw the play at MTC, we had a general idea of what to expect.  In the interview with Leigh Sales, Williamson made no secret of his dislike of Rupert Murdoch, so I guess it wasn't surprising that the ABC saw fit to give the play a plug!

Obviously to compress events covering a (very busy) lifetime into a little over two hours requires that the play move at a fast pace, and doubtless there has been much simplification.   The actors (with the exception of the "old" and "young" Murdochs) change roles repeatedly, often before your eyes.  Yes, Murdoch comes across as quite driven, but in a way, Dean O'Shea's performance portrays him, if not as likeable, then as somewhat captivating.  In fact, Sir Frank Packer and his sons (Clyde and Kerry), and Bob Hawke (although just a cameo appearance) fare worse at Williamson's hands than Murdoch.  In one review the point was made that Williamson leaves it to the audience to make up their own mind about Murdoch, but in the Age,  Rebecca Harkins-Cross  accuses Williamson of pulling his punches!    No doubt there's no love lost at Fairfax for Murdoch, but this seems an odd sort of comment.  Does the reviewer really have more information or is she suggesting that Williamson ought to have dug deeper (or made something up)?  

From 7.30

As I've said, it's fast-moving, so a pre-requisite to appreciating it is to have at least a basic knowledge of Murdoch's life.   But it's good to see Williamson breaking out from his familiar style, and the full house at the performance we attended appeared to like what they saw.