
Written by David Williamson. Directed by Mark Kilmurry
Imbued with 80’s chic, Williamson’s Emerald City is removed from being a period piece, shining a light on modern sensibilities
Reviewed by Juliana Payne, 24/7/25
Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli
Until 23 August 2025
Tickets: https://www.ensemble.com.au/shows/emerald-city/
Type: Classic Australian comic satire
If you like: Witty intelligent dialogue – think Joanna Murray-Smith, Neil Simon, Yasmin Reza
David Williamson’s Emerald City, first staged in 1987, was written as a razor-sharp satire of Sydney’s cutthroat cultural film and publishing industries, with a goodly sprinkling of the Sydney V Melbourne competition for belly laughs. I saw it in Perth when it toured at that time and, as a young arts graduate, the jokes flowed thick and fast and we thought it was absolutely wonderful. In 2025, the play feels a lot gentler and almost makes one nostalgic for those seemingly simpler times. The human follies and hypocrisies that Williamson takes the mickey out of are still prevalent however and many a rueful laugh is to be had at the rivalries, passion, and compromises of Colin, Kate and Mike.
The story follows Colin (Tom O’Sullivan), a once-idealistic screenwriter who has moved from Melbourne to Sydney with his wife Kate (Rachel Gordon), a publisher, and their family.  The play unfolds as they are both seduced by the promise of fame and flashy deals, whilst around them orbit an unscrupulous producer Mike (Matt Minto), a hard-nosed producer (an excellent Danielle Carter) and a ruthless merchant banker (Rajan Velu).Â

Minto’s performance and comic energy capture best the tone and style of Williamson’s satire, with a strong performance that walks the balance between satire and outright slapstick parody in his portrayal of the amoral venal Mike. Gordon does the heavy lifting, both in character and comedy, in the marital couple as she straddles the moral high ground whilst almost convincing herself that her decisions aren’t compromises at all. Aidara is well cast as Helen, Mike’s long suffering girlfriend, and provides the single honest foil to set off the others’ hypocrisies. O’Sullivan as Colin seems to take a while to warm to his role and he feels a bit uncomfortable in the first act. However, Mark Kilmurry’s direction does feel slow in the first half, but the pace and stakes pick up dramatically in the second act, carrying us to the whirlwind conclusion.
Dan Potra’s set and video design enlivens the stage with a huge digital backdrop complete with film sprocket holes as, paird with Morgan Moroney‘s lighting design, it shifts between various views of Sydney Harbour rendered with a Ken Done/Brett Whiteley vibe – pure 80s! The clever adaptation of a single table and two chairs throughout the play minimises set changes and helps keep things moving.Â
Williamson’s script is peppered with references from the 1980s and plenty of the casual sexism and racism that reminds us how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go in our social evolution, but some textual updates have avoided turning the play into a period piece. The themes – ambition versus integrity, the allure of commercial success, and the tension between art and business – remain all too familiar. Even the jokes about the Sydney-Melbourne divide still land and get a chuckle.
In an era where the cultural sector is more commercialised and competitive than ever, Williamson’s critique of artistic compromise still has currency and relevance, and provides a little time capsule to experience a moment in Australia’s social history with a lot of laughs to boot.
Theatre Thought: How can we continue to pull texts out of the quagmire of the past and make them hold relevance to the social standards of our modern society?

Creatives
Playwright David Williamson
Director Mark Kilmurry
Assistant Director Tiffany Wong
Set, Costume & Video Designer Dan Potra
Lighting Designer Morgan Moroney
Composer & Sound Designer Madeleine Picard
Stage Manager Lauren Tulloh
Assistant Stage Manager Bella Wellstead
Costume Supervisor Renata Beslik
Cast
Aisha Aidara
Danielle Carter
Rachel Gordon
Matt Minto
Tom O’Sullivan
Rajan Velu