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by Tobsha Learner 1990 Sydney season 
Michele Williams as the young Aphrodite (from Coburg), one of the many characters in MISTRESS In performance terms, Williams… playing the school-girl shines in one of the final scenes, where she re-enacts her first sexual encounter with Damian. Helen Thompson, Sydney Morning Herald Review From a Polish-Jewish background, sculptor turned playwright, Tobsha Learner is a masterly spinner of words, and conjurer of rich, often deeply impressive images. Her latest play, Mistress is a one-woman show performed by Michele Williams. Williams is at her best – brilliant in her comic portrayal of the naive schoolgirl, sexually and otherwise involved with a boy from another socio-economic stratum. Australian Jewish News (Sydney edition) Play triumphs for Tobsha Learner
Michele Williams excelled in this entertaining piece about a television presenter’s mistress and his family. Some of the funniest moments came in the narrative from Aphrodite, the Greek girlfriend of the presenter’s son, Damian. …The society wife, Diana, cleverly mocked the upper classes… …expect to be challenged and stimulated. Sue Nelson, Eastern Herald, Sydney Learner’s latest play, MISTRESS, is joyfully confronting and was the highlight of the evening. The play was a one-woman show (performed by Michele Williams), the actress giving a superb performance… She entranced the audience from start to finish with her dedication, versatility and energy… Johnny Gannon, On the Street Magazine, Sydney MISTRESS was written especially for Michele Williams, who plays all roles brilliantly. Her performance is superb… Beat Magazine, Sydney Mistress, Melbourne seasons: 1991 to 1992Return seasons at: Playbox Theatre, Anthill Theatre and The Universal Theatre, directed by Rosalba Clemente Michele Williams in MISTRESS
As society wife, Diana Michele Williams plays three women linked by one man – Richard Cummingham, a Channel 10 newsreader. Richard’s wife, Diana, is a Toorak socialite whose life is thrown into turmoil when she discovers that Richard is having an affair. Realising that she has submerged her whole identity in marriage and the round of parties and charity launches, she embarks on a course of meditation, rebirthing and primal screaming. Helen, the mistress of the title, is a young woman from a working-class background who has risen to the position of floor manager at Channel 10 through her looks and intelligence. Fired from her job, she and Richard are caught bonking in the broom cupboard… The third character, Aphrodite, is a young woman from a Greek family who is the girlfriend of Richard and Diana’s rebellious son, Damian… Very much aware of the class and cultural differences between herself and Damian, Aphrodite agonises over whether to lose her virginity to him, afraid that she will be rejected if she does. Learner’s script and Williams’ performance bring depth and life to the three women. I can also guarantee that anyone seeing this play will never see male TV newsreaders in quite the same way again… Bronwyn Beechey, The Herald Sun Liberating – Even InspirationalMISTRESS is a play about three women set in the present… The insights into the three women and their relationships to their men are razor sharp. The comedy is exuberant; the construction simple but tidy… Credit must be shared with the director Rose Clemente, and the solitary performer, Michele Williams. Williams, using just her face and voice, creates a score of vivid and distinct characters… After a leisurely opening, the play tightens like a spring before expanding decisively and ardently in the final scenes. The effect is liberating – even inspirational… Chris Boyd, Financial Review MISTRESS is an 80-minute soliloquy performed by Michele Williams, who flits impeccably among the main characters of Richard’s wife, Diana, his mistress, Helen, and Aphrodite, the girlfriend of Richard’s adolescent son, Damian. Lisa Kearns, The Age Comedy on the prowlMISTRESS (at Anthill) concerns three women and their dependency on Richard, a middle-aged newsreader with a penchant for infidelity… …MISTRESS, a monologue, is challenging for actor Michele Williams… Williams skillfully switches between three female characters without props or missing a beat… Fiona Scott-Norman, The Bulletin Arts Review 
by Catherine Hayes, directed by Kerreen Ely-Harper, The Courthouse Theatre 
Michele Williams (left) as Rita Death defying humourLaughter abounds in SKIRMISHES despite it being about two sisters waiting for their mother to die. The humour is derived from the sisters’ sarcastic exchanges… Jean has nursed her mother for weeks, cloistered in a sick-room, and her nerves have frayed. Rita, a busy family woman, has been kept informed by telephone and grudgingly comes to visit when it appears her mother is close to death… Michele Williams has the difficult task of injecting some warmth into the often hysterical character of Rita. …the play ends on a sombre note, having spanned the gamut of emotions. Sonia Harford, Sunday Herald-Sun, 19 January 1992 |
