[citation needed] This pushed contemporary Australian art prices to new highs, with Brett Whiteley's "The Jacaranda Tree" fetching $1.9 million in 1999.

[2] The story deals with the efforts of Simone, a young fledgling art dealer, to sell a painting by Australian artist Brett Whitely for a record $2 million and thereby establish herself at the “big end of town.” This ambition turns to desperation when she signs a contract guaranteeing this price, putting both her own and her partner Gerry's assets on the line.

Simone, who has a small list of clients with the sort of money needed for this kind of transaction, sets up an unofficial auction to push up the price.

When the moment calls for honesty, Simone decides to warn the naïve Mindy, who has genuinely fallen in love with the art dealer, that the Whitely is grossly over-priced.

[8] Cast in order of appearance David Williamson later reflected on the experience: I was there for the first week of rehearsals in London when Madonna was playing the lead role...

[10][11][12] After the announcement of her participation, Wyndham's Theatre informed it had already sold a "frightening" number of tickets,[13] and in matters of 10 days, the play was a sell-out before its official debut.

[16] Playwright David Williamson admitted Madonna's presence guaranteed a sell-out over the play's ten-week run,[18] commenting: "It was my only sold-out West End experience; people were scalping tickets for 500 quid.