AustLit logo

AustLit

y separately published work icon The Perfectionist single work   drama   - Two acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1982... 1982 The Perfectionist
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Latest Issues

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

In The Perfectionist, yet another blockbusting success in the theatre, Williamson again assumes the serious business of comedy to examine the legacy of the sexual revolution with Barbara and Stuart, a professional couple in their 30's, as they battle out their rights to personal success outside the domestic sanctuary of marriage, and mutual understanding within it. (Publisher's blurb, back cover). 'Stuart is a perfectionist, male chauvinist and when his wife Barbara re-enters the workforce and hires a blond, male, Scandinavian babysitter the effects on the household are dramatic.' Source: Libraries Australia.

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon The Perfectionist David Williamson , ( dir. Chris Thomson ) Sydney : Pavilion Partners , 1985 Z966852 1985 single work film/TV

An incisive and humorous look at the problems in a two-career marriage, the story concerns Stuart, a perfectionist and male chauvinist, and his wife Barbara. When she re-enters the workforce and hires a male Scandinavian babysitter, the effects on the household are dramatic.

Notes

  • Dedication: For Kristin

Production Details

  • First produced by the Sydney Theatre Co. at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House, 20 July 1982. Director: Rodney Fisher. Also produced in London, 1983 and the USA 1984.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Sydney, New South Wales,:Currency Press , 1983 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
In the Wake of the Seventies, Rodney Fisher , single work criticism (p. vii-xii)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1982

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.

Works about this Work

Playing Perfect Naomi Black , 1998 single work column
— Appears in: Muse , November no. 179 1998; (p. 4)
Untitled John McCallum , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 19 March 1993; (p. 10)

— Review of The Perfectionist David Williamson , 1982 single work drama
Portrait of a Marriage Played Without Passion Bob Evans , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 12 March 1993; (p. 15)

— Review of The Perfectionist David Williamson , 1982 single work drama
David Williamson : Satiric Comedies Brian Kiernan , 1991 single work criticism biography
— Appears in: International Literature in English : Essays on the Major Writers 1991; (p. 659-667)
David Williamson Dagmar Strauss (interviewer), 1990 single work interview
— Appears in: Facing Writers : Australia's Leading Writers Talk with Dagmar Strauss 1990; (p. 23-35)
Scenes from a Marriage?: The Perfectionist Kay Ferres , 1983 single work review
— Appears in: LiNQ , vol. 11 no. 1 1983; (p. 76-79)

— Review of The Perfectionist David Williamson , 1982 single work drama
Williamson Leave Farce and Turns Back to Comedy H. G. Kippax , 1982 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 22 July 1982; (p. 8) A Leader of His Craft : Theatre Reviews by H. G. Kippax 2004; (p. 256-258)

— Review of The Perfectionist David Williamson , 1982 single work drama
Two Well-Made Plays Hope Hewitt , 1983 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 21 May 1983; (p. 13)

— Review of The Perfectionist David Williamson , 1982 single work drama ; Marx Ron Blair , 1978 single work drama
A Political Mixture Mary Lord , 1983 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 54 1983; (p. 29)

— Review of The Perfectionist David Williamson , 1982 single work drama
Untitled Alrene Sykes , 1983 single work review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October vol. 2 no. 1 1983; (p. 126-127)

— Review of The Perfectionist David Williamson , 1982 single work drama
In the Wake of the Seventies Rodney Fisher , 1983 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Perfectionist 1983; (p. vii-xii)
Playing Perfect Naomi Black , 1998 single work column
— Appears in: Muse , November no. 179 1998; (p. 4)
David Williamson Dagmar Strauss (interviewer), 1990 single work interview
— Appears in: Facing Writers : Australia's Leading Writers Talk with Dagmar Strauss 1990; (p. 23-35)
A New Map of Australia : The Plays of David Williamson John McCallum , 1984 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 11 no. 3 1984; (p. 342-354)
Comic - Satiric - Realism : David Williamson's Plays Since "The Department" Brian Kiernan , 1986 single work criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , March vol. 46 no. 1 1986; (p. 3-18)
Last amended 22 Jul 2008 12:57:33
X