''Top Silk'' is a play by

David Williamson David Keith Williamson Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australians, Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays. Early life David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Vi ...

concerning two lawyers. It is not regarded as one of his strongest plays but was very successful commercially.

Plot

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

solicitor and a prominent barrister battle over their individual careers and the future of their teenage son.

Original cast

Helmut Bakaitis Helmut Bakaitis is a German-born Australian director, actor and screenwriter and playwright. He is best known for his role in ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions'' as the character the Architect (The Matrix), Architect. Early ...

Tina Bursill Tina Bursill (born 24 July 1951) is an Australian actress. She played Louise Carter on the television series '' Skyways'' (1979–1981) and Sonia Stevens on ''Prisoner'' (1983–1984). She played Meryl Knight in the Nine Network drama series ...

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

* Simon Kay * Barbara Lowing * Vince Martin * Geoff Morrell * Leo Wockner

Reception

The play was better received in Melbourne than Sydney. Despite relatively poor reviews, including a negative critic from HG Kippax of the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', the 1989 production still earned over $2 million.

References

External links

''Top Silk''
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...

Plays by David Williamson 1989 plays 1980s Australian plays {{1980s-play-stub