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The John Wayne Principle
80 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 11, 2022
Tony McNamara's play The John Wayne Principle was first produced in Sydney, Australia in 1996. It received its New York premiere, some eight years later; it's a terrific script--we ought to have seen it sooner.
The John Wayne Principle is a dark, dark, bitter, edgy satire about the world of business, touching also on some of human nature's less pleasant aspects. Robbie lives in Queensland with his wife, Jenny, and their young son Sam. She supports the family working as a clothes designer, while he spends his days as house-husband, cooking, cleaning, and looking after the boy, with long hours of fishing and leisure. Everything changes, however, when Robbie's father tries to commit suicide but manages only to render himself comatose. The old man was the ruthless, ultra-high-powered head of a gigantic corporation; years ago, Robbie and he had a falling-out which led directly to disgrace in the father's eyes. Now, the terms of the patriarch's will specify that if Robbie is to receive his inheritance, he must first take over the company's leadership for a full year.
There are several obstacles to Robbie's carrying out this odd and manipulative legacy. One is that he and especially his wife are happy as they are, though the promise of a huge windfall helps mitigate this factor. But, more formidably, there's Serena, Robbie's sister, a single-minded, controlling woman who is a chip off the old block and already firmly ensconced in the family business; she's understandably miffed by her brother's determination to live up to their father's wishes. In addition, John, Robbie's Dad's longtime right-hand-man and punching bag, and John's devious protege Stafford, who is installed as Robbie's "advisor," are plotting to ensure that Robbie will resign and/or be forced out before the year is over. Will Robbie learn to swim with all of these sharks? Or will he be eaten alive?
I won't reveal the answer, of course; but I will tell you that McNamara uses this set-up beautifully to comment on the dog-eat-dog barbarism and survival-of-the-strongest ethos that characterizes too much of Corporate America (and, I guess, Australia). The brazen cynicism, deceitfulness, amorality, and underhandedness depicted here reminded me of Billy Wilder at his most pungent.
The John Wayne Principle is a dark, dark, bitter, edgy satire about the world of business, touching also on some of human nature's less pleasant aspects. Robbie lives in Queensland with his wife, Jenny, and their young son Sam. She supports the family working as a clothes designer, while he spends his days as house-husband, cooking, cleaning, and looking after the boy, with long hours of fishing and leisure. Everything changes, however, when Robbie's father tries to commit suicide but manages only to render himself comatose. The old man was the ruthless, ultra-high-powered head of a gigantic corporation; years ago, Robbie and he had a falling-out which led directly to disgrace in the father's eyes. Now, the terms of the patriarch's will specify that if Robbie is to receive his inheritance, he must first take over the company's leadership for a full year.
There are several obstacles to Robbie's carrying out this odd and manipulative legacy. One is that he and especially his wife are happy as they are, though the promise of a huge windfall helps mitigate this factor. But, more formidably, there's Serena, Robbie's sister, a single-minded, controlling woman who is a chip off the old block and already firmly ensconced in the family business; she's understandably miffed by her brother's determination to live up to their father's wishes. In addition, John, Robbie's Dad's longtime right-hand-man and punching bag, and John's devious protege Stafford, who is installed as Robbie's "advisor," are plotting to ensure that Robbie will resign and/or be forced out before the year is over. Will Robbie learn to swim with all of these sharks? Or will he be eaten alive?
I won't reveal the answer, of course; but I will tell you that McNamara uses this set-up beautifully to comment on the dog-eat-dog barbarism and survival-of-the-strongest ethos that characterizes too much of Corporate America (and, I guess, Australia). The brazen cynicism, deceitfulness, amorality, and underhandedness depicted here reminded me of Billy Wilder at his most pungent.
April 15, 2024
One of Tony McNamara's early plays, which is basicaly Succession before Succession existed. The theme of the play is the ruthlessness of capitalism, which is even more appropriate now in the mid 2020s ecoomy than it was in the late 1990s. This play exhibits McNamara's typical wit and incisiveness coupled with his outlandish crudeness and bawdry subject matter. Fans of his later work in cinema and film will appreciate this play also.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews