A sure crowd pleaser.
Housework, produced by Sydney Theatre Company, is a delightful satire about the pernicious world of Australian politics. Although occasionally predictable, its duplicitous characters and sharp writing keep the audience hooked.
Housework revolves Anna Cooper (Emily Taheny), the Chief of Staff to first-time federal MP Ruth Mandour (Susie Youssef). Ruth’s political party isn’t revealed, nor does it have to be; there’s enough chaos in her office, with media advisor Ben (Laurence Boxhall) down with COVID-19 and wide-eyed Kelly Sheppard (Franca Lafosse) more enthusiastic than experienced.
Ben’s illness forces Sarah to bring Kelly to Canberra for the House of Reps’ sitting week, where a late-night meeting with the womanising Environment Minister Paul (Johnny Nasser) leads to a salacious, Canberra-coded scandal.
Emily Steel‘s script holds nothing back. It smartly dissects the Canberra bubble, letting audiences see the power dynamics, personalities, and immorality inside it. What it does best is create characters who are three-dimensional. Anna, for example, is not just a chief of staff: Steel’s writing explores her relationship with her husband, time away from her daughter, and fraught relationship with Ruth’s political party, giving the character nuance. Similarly, Ben’s first introduction as a media advisor hides a past of unresolved leadership ambitions and wicked political strategising skills.
The same goes for Ruth. Initially presented as an out-of-her-depth nurse turned politician, her ability to not just play the game of politics but master it – and ruthlessly at that – allows the script to be mesmerising.
Strong direction and performances support this. Shannon Rush‘s direction keeps the production fast-paced, not unlike the world of politics. Despite some tacky sound design (Andrew Howard), the show’s 2 hour 10 minute run time goes quickly and energetically as a result. Every performer gives their character the depth they deserve, while also teasing out the script’s dark humour. Youssef is particularly good at this, revealing Ruth’s deception and cunning with both shocking and humorous effect. Nasser is particularly of note, playing Paul as a charming MP, a sleazy, slimy seducer, and the husband of a terminally ill wife.
Taheny elicits sympathy as she brings Anna’s personal issues out, and Boxall draws surprise – and then disdain – as he portrays Ben’s manipulation of the play’s events. Lafosse does well to channel the audience’s emotions through her role, with Kelly learning about the insidious world of Canberra at the same rate as they do. Indira Naidoo does well in her cameos as the Prime Minister, a cleaner, and a waitress, but feels underutilised.
Ultimately, what Housework succeeds at best is stripping back the externalities of politics and revealing the murky world inside it. Rather than showing the deals, compromises, and tactics used to create policy (which are certainly displayed), it chooses to depict the personal sacrifices pollies make to get ahead – with such sacrifices being the other characters around them. The disordered, chaotic world inside the play’s Parliament House is fascinating, and at times deeply troubling.
