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David Williamson

Reading Australia: 'The Removalists' by David Williamson

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Reading Australia

David Williamson is our most distinguished dramatist. His plays have been performed to acclaim in Australia and internationally. His screenplays, notably Gallipoli (1981), define a certain Australian mythos. Williamson is considered an establishment playwright, depicting middle-class fears and foibles in major theatres. But he came to prominence in a differ ...

David Williamson

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Reading Australia

David Williamson (1942–) is one of Australia's most decorated playwrights. Writer of award-winning theatre, film and television, David's works have remained consistently relevant, with new seasons performed yearly. He has won awards in both film and theatre, with The Removalists (1971) earning him the George Devine Award as well as the prestige of being t ...

Rupert

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04 September 2013

When I was a teenager, I attended a theatre workshop organised by Australian Theatre for Young People. Nick Enright, who led the workshop, told a story about seeing the opening-night production of David Williamson’s The Removalists (1971) from backstage. Twenty years on, Enright’s description of the look on the audience’s faces as they contemplated the ...

Confessions of a Culture War Villain

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February–March 1998, no. 198

I opened up my last issue of ABR to see my photograph. It’s there because I was mentioned at a conference at La Trobe as evidence of an ascendant anti­intellectualism. I suspect my new reputation as a villain on the black hat side of the Culture Wars has a lot to do with my play, Dead White Males, or, more accurately, the fact that the play proved popular with audiences. Dead White Males satirised the dominant theology of the humanities, variously called postmodernism, post-structuralism, deconstructionism, social constructionism or what you will. 

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Collected Plays, Volume II by Patrick White & Collected Plays, Volume II by David Williamson

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October 1994, no. 165
Peter Fitzpatrick reviews 'Collected Plays, Volume II' by Patrick White and 'Collected Plays, Volume II' by David Williamson

In a recent interview on ABC radio, the playwright, Stephen Sewell, deplored the lack of revivals of notable Australian plays. Now and then, one of the pioneer playwrights from the first half of the century is honoured briefly in this way, but it is much rarer to find one of the professional companies revisiting the major works of the last twenty-five years. As Sewell implied, this reflects the lack of a strong sense of a tradition of ‘modem classics’ in our theatre.

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The Story of Gallipoli by Bill Gammage, based on the screenplay by David Williamson

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June 1982, no. 41
Margaret Smith reviews 'The Story of Gallipoli' by Bill Gammage, based on the screenplay by David Williamson

People tell you one week that they liked Gallipoli, but the next they’re not so sure. Gone are the days of intuitive gut felt reaction – everyone wants to make sure their judgements are intellectually sound. They read every ‘expert’ on the subject and come back with another opinion. Reading the script gives you another variation. The skeleton is there, warts and all.

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Travelling North by David Williamson

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August 1980, no. 23
Mary Lord reviews 'Travelling North' by David Williamson

Is there life after fifty? David Williamson’s newest play wittily affirms that love, adventure, and increasing self-knowledge are not the exclusive preserves of the young. Frank, seventy-five, retired engineer and ex-communist, is no spring chicken but neither is he ‘defunct in the physical area’.

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