Influence

by David Williamson

seen at Chester Street Theatre on 4 August 2018

Theatre on Chester, an amateur group in the Sydney suburb of Epping, has revived Williamson's 2005 play under the capable direction of Sher Kearney. Influence concerns a 'shock jock' who peddles bigotry and prejudice on the radio, but whose personal life threatens to disrupt his bullying public persona. Ziggi Blasko lives in luxury in a waterfront apartment with his second wife Carmela and their new-born daughter, but his fractious marriage is put under further strain when both his father Marko and his teenage daughter Vivienne come to stay. His sister Connie, a psychotherapist, has no time for his toxic views, while his factotum Tony puts up with the domestic tyrannies, and a new housekeeper Zehra is underpaid, overworked, and generally treated like dirt.

It's a classic Williamson situation, creating plenty of scope for spirited conflict, smart put downs, and a clever revelation of many different viewpoints. Interspersed with excerpts from Ziggi's radio broadcasts, including all-too-plausible listeners ringing in to express irredeemably self-righteous views, Ziggi's home life is shown to be spinning out of control, as his father at last reveals that he was not merely an heroic (or inconspicuous) medic during the Second World War in Serbia, but rather an active soldier who executed enemy partisans, while his daughter veers fatefully between the highs and lows of manic depression and his wife desperately tries to revive her ballet career after a pregnancy that she claims to have wanted only because she thought Ziggi wanted it. 

It's easy to dislike or despise these people, but the power of Ziggi's media position is undeniable and uncomfortable for a liberal-minded audience, especially as nothing, in the end, dents it sufficiently to bring it to an end. Williamson, as ever, is past master at presenting unlikeable people, but humanising them sufficiently to prevent the audience from dismissing them utterly - and at the same time an attentive audience ember will see his or her own prejudices presented on stage in a less than flattering light.

The cast performed with great skill, with David Burke a commanding Ziggi only momentarily put off his stride by the snarky Carmela of Tara Jay, the potentially damaging revelations of Richard Lewis's Marko, and the disastrous interventions of Harriet Bridges-Webb's Vivienne. He has no time for his anoying sister Connie (Leonie Bringolf), and of course barely notices his employees - yet Rob White's Tony received warm applause for his speech when he finally quit the establishment, and Tracy Okeby Lucan's Zehra remained a constant reminder that real people, already oppressed by severe economic hardship, are being further victimised by baseless accusations and vulgar prejudice. When driven to tell the truth, she is immediately accused of whingeing - the bully's tactics are, as usual, almost unassailable.

It's an enjoyable production by an extremely accomplished group of players supported by an excellent behind-the-scenes team.