Masterclass (Sydney Opera House) ★★★★

Written by Feidlim Cannon, Gary Keegan and Adrienne Truscott. Sydney Festival. Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre. 12-16 Jan, 2024.

Brokentalkers (with comic Adrienne Truscott) show Masterclass slowly skins its topic, layer by layer, till it revels in its startling conclusion. Feeling the energy in the theatre shift from gleeful laughter to uncomfortable tittering to bewildered joy and finally buzzing chatter is simply delicious. This is a brilliant example of how theatrical forms can be used to enlighten and subvert. Yes, it’s a two hander about sexism in the arts, but that description barely scratches the surface.

It’s almost hard to believe the play only runs 60 minutes considering the ground it covers and how much it evolves. Starting off as an absurd and hilarious TV interview with a feted, misogynistic playwright (half the fun is imagining who they may have based him on), the story dances around gender issues like a boxer circling their opponent, throwing jabs at opportune moments, coming back round on itself again and again. Slowly but surely it starts to challenge the platitudes and accepted truths we, the middle-class, liberal, art-loving audience think we know and leads us to a very different place.

We know, for all the positive messaging, there is a deep-rooted problem with gender equality in the arts. The 2022 report Culture and the Gender Pay Gap for Australian Artists found that female artists were paid 25% less than men (a greater differential than the rest of the economy). Research released in 2023 by the University of Melbourne concluded “Despite its otherwise progressive reputation, the arts and cultural sector remains a problematic industry when it comes to the relationship between labour and gender.” These results are echoed around the world.

[Warning: Mild spoilers ahead] 

From here, Masterclass starts to twist the knife. After skewering the stereotypical machismo of toxic male creatives the story takes an intriguing left turn that reveals its true motives. Striping back all its artifice and presenting a harsh, raw truth. It dresses down the practice of theatre making with a sharp critique of access. I’ll be honest, the gear change isn’t the smoothest, but considering the gold it delivers, it’s worth going along with.

There is a thrill in watching Masterclass start saying the unspoken bit out loud and discuss the logical, uncomfortable interpretation it reaches. It pushes the polite artifice of “the theatre” aside to interrogate our true thoughts on equality. Even when the actors have reached their stinging conclusion, they refuse to end on a mic-drop. Instead the piece continues to push and prod at each sliver of hypocrisy. It will divide the crowd into those who find its boldness cathartic, and those who think it is simply absurd.

To its detriment, Masterclass slips into the trap those of us on the Left always seem to fall into – attacking our allies and judging “good” people for not being “good enough” (to be fair, it’s not only the Left, I’ve seen hundreds of faith-based organisations shoot their own wounded rather than try to heal them etc). There are moments of self-righteousness as the play contrives to lampoon the “nice guy fallacy” but the creators seem to recognise this within themselves and acknowledge, in the final moments, that things may not be as clear cut as they present. Ultimately, we all act in our own self interest.

Whether you agree or disagree with the storyteller’s verdict is not really the point, the play forces you examine your intentions and your own ethical foundations. Wickedly funny (with some nice localised moments for the Sydney audience), this is the kind of show that has the audience discussing big topics all the way home.