“Headless body found in topless bar” is just one of many tabloid newspaper headlines created during the long life of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, now brought vividly to life in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of David Williamson’s play RUPERT, directed by Lee Lewis.
Williamson’s play has been written very much as a documentary. It charts the extraordinary journey that has been Rupert’s life thus far.
Rupert’s business life begins at Oxford, where he completed an MA with Third Class Honours, despite three years of not studying. Following his father’s death, when he was 21, Rupert returned from Oxford to take charge of the family business News Limited. We follow Rupert in his stellar rise to fame and fortune, and almost to bankruptcy, the good times and the bad Times, from his first newspaper acquisitions, in Australia from 1956, in London from 1969, and then in New York from 1974.
His business and important political activities are explored on his journey towards his American breakthroughs and beyond. Gaining his naturalised USA citizenship in 1985 and thus forfeiting his Australian Citizenship, and ever onwards on this path, we meet Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, along with some the most colourful characters of the 20th Century.
Rupert’s News Corporation acquired 50% of movie studio Twentieth Century Fox in Hollywood, then to 100% ownership. Bitter industrial disputes with the UK print unions are detailed, showing Thatcher’s providing police assistance with the union picket lines, and then her Falklands war.
We finally see the reasons for closure of The News of the World in London, all the bribery and corruption, plus Rebekah Mary Brooks and her golden handshake. All caused by the worsening scandal from the illegal mobile phone hacking of United Kingdom voicemail accounts owned by celebrities, royalty and public citizens. (On a side note, I was in London earlier this year to see the play Great Britain, which was a dramatisation of the phone hacking scandal. The National Theatre production opened shortly after the court case against Rebekah Mary Brooks failed. It was an engaging, two hour plus, high energy production that starred the extraordinary Billie Piper as Ms Brooks, and tried to prove Rupert’s connection to the scandal).
By the year 2000 Rupert’s News Corporation owned over 800 companies in more than 50 countries.
Lee Lewis’ production of this amazing journey is slick and entertaining. One of the main features is the talent and agility of the cast, most of whom play multiple roles very well.
GUY EDMONDS reprises his high-energy role as the young Rupert with so many touches reminiscent of his recent lead role in THE WITCHES by Roald Dahl. The elder Rupert Murdoch is played to perfection by JAMES CROMWELL (aka Farmer Hogget in Babe). Comedian JANE TURNER (Kath and Kim) plays multiple roles, including both that of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and a delightfully believable Dame Margaret Thatcher.
SCOTT SHERIDAN portrays Lachlan Murdoch and twelve other roles; HAI HA LE is Wendi Deng and Rebekah Mary Brooks plus five more roles; BERT LaBONTE is in multiple roles including cleverly impersonating a seagull, and as Frank Packer and Ronald Reagan plus eleven other roles; and GLENN HAZELDINE is kept very busy playing Tony Blair, James Murdoch, Kerry Packer, David Frost, Gough Whitlam and six more roles. DANIELLE CORMACK plays his first wife Patricia Booker, plays his second wife Anna Torv, and four more roles. JANE PHEGAN is the first Mechanist. BEN WOOD is the second Mechanist.
Summing up, this was a very entertaining production, though there was a pervading sense that the playwright was trying to cover too much territory, and only skimmed over many aspects, especially the personal relationships. If you are after a deep, in-depth portrait of Murdoch, this is definitely not the show for you.
David Williamson’s RUPERT is playing the Theatre Royal, 108 King Street, city until 21st December.