Director’s Note: Anthea Williams, THE ELEVATOR

In the 1990s and 2000s, when Margot (and I) were growing up and imagining our futures, much of white Western feminist discourse seemed focused on getting women into positions of power: into boardrooms, executive offices, and the highest levels of corporate life. That progress mattered, but a small amount of representation at the top hasn’t created change. Genuine equality requires structural change at every level – a fundamental rethinking of what, and who, our workplaces, businesses and economy values.

Women are still expected to work as though they do not have people to care for, and to parent as though they do not have jobs. The strain created by these incompatible expectations is treated as a personal failure rather than the consequence of systems never designed to accommodate those who nurture. At the same time, work itself can be profoundly dehumanising, asking us to suppress our vulnerability, our responsibilities and, all too often, our consciences.

Time and again in Australia, we have seen that when women are finally given the opportunity to lead, it is at a moment of institutional crisis, the glass cliff, or in circumstances where their authority is continually undermined. Both happen to Margot.

Eloise Snape’s THE ELEVATOR offers no easy answers. Instead, it asks us to consider the ways corporations can erode our humanity: personally, when work is placed ahead of those who need our care; and socially, when profit is placed ahead of people.

It has been a great pleasure to work at Ensemble Theatre, and I have been deeply impressed by the company’s commitment to new Australian plays. The actors and creative team have brought enormous care, intelligence and generosity to this production. And, as always, it has been fantastic to work with the brilliant Eloise Snape.

Anthea Williams