The Perfectionist

Human relations, human foibles, human obsessions, human systems of family and government - all of these themes continue to provide rich and relevant material for dramatists, but not every play dealing with this kind of subject matter proves equally durable down the tracks of time. Adapt Enterprises have, happily, demonstrated David Williamson's The Perfectionist to be a work of enduring strength and intrinsic interest, more than thirty years after its premiere production.

Williamson's script begins, unusually for an Australian playwright, in Denmark; the year is 1978, and a pair of expat Aussie academics - with kids who need minding as well as a household that needs running - advertise for a sitter. They find themselves unexpectedly fielding the interest of a young man, whose impact on the household will prove to be the catalyst for our married-with-children protagonists to examine and question their life together...

Cheryl Douglas portrays Barbara, the principal female protagonist (and narrator) while director Ross Vosvotekas performs opposite her as Stuart, the other half of the central marriage. While Douglas delivers a sympathetic, nuanced, realistic portrayal, Vosvotekas' own performance is more problematic. One is too often aware here of the mechanics of acting that are taking place; of a character being impersonated rather than inhabited.

Danish babysitter Erik - laidback and lazily idealistic - is played by Chris Knight as a sometimes interesting contrast to Stuart (the ostensible 'perfectionist' of the title), but one cannot help feeling at times that Barbara might well be better off without either of them as a partner. Kim York and Rick Mills are cast in the crucial supporting roles of Stuart's mother and father; both actors do a superbly professional job, and provide much of the play's quota of sharp black comedy.

Set design (uncredited in the programme) conveys an intriguingly tatty and slightly tacky atmosphere from a period in history that is relatively recent yet can feel as alien as it does familiar. Costume design (by Amanda Jane Bell) adds a colourful extra layer of amusement to the proceedings, one that stays just on the right side of distraction.

Vosvotekas is especially apt in his choice of music cues that gently push a viewer's buttons and stir feelings of recognition without ever seeming shameless or too manipulative. Lighting is skilfully deployed to make the most out of the relatively limited space that the Bakehouse Theatre allows (Joshua Cruse is listed as 'technician').

The Perfectionist is perhaps not one of David Williamson's best-known pieces, but on the basis of this generally very successful re-staging, it deserves a greater level of recognition. Ross Vosvotekas has directed this production with a sharp pace and equally sharp perception, achieving a most satisfying, engaging mixture of credible drama and tangy humour.

Anthony Vawser