DAVID WILLIAMSON (1942 - )
| Nationality: | Australian |
| Literary Agent: *: | |
| Email: | n/a |
| Website: | n/a |
* If shown, click on the literary agent's name for full contact details and links to all the Playwrights they represent.
Plays by David Williamson
After the Ball |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | 1977 | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 6 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: Stephen has, with ill grace, returned home to his mother's deathbed. As he and his sister rake through the family photographs and childhood memories, they find conflicting versions of their parents' unhappy marriage. | ||||
Amigos |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | - | |||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: At the 1968 Olympics, the four Amigos, an Australian rowing team, won a bronze medal. It was lifetime bonding material but 35 years later, only two of the Amigos keep in touch. Jim is a banker with money expensive house and a young, beautiful wife. It seems he has it all but his friend Dick, a heart surgeon, has something that Jim wants: a sterling reputation. The 2 mates and their wives meet up in Queensland with competing personal agendas. And then Steven, the third Amigo, turns up ready to expose all about their past. A savagely funny play that exposes the subtle aggression and unacknowledged dependencies of male friendship - and the angst and irritation created for those on the friendship's sidelines. | ||||
Audience Participation Bit |
| 1st Produced: | - | 197-? | ||
| Company: | Australian Performing Group | |||
| 1st Published: | Script in the Hanger Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, Australia. http://www.austlit.edu.au >>> | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | Stage Revue | - | Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | - |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: - | ||||
Birthrights |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | - | |||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 4 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: A bittersweet play about motherhood. At 29, Helen has a vital operation that stops her from having what she desperately wants: a child. Her younger sister Claudia gives her a wonderful gift: she bears a child for her sister. However, years later when Claudia finds out that she and her husband Martin can't conceive, she realises that the only baby she will ever bear is Kelly, the child she had for her sister. | ||||
Brilliant Lies |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 3 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: Williamson turns his penetrating eye and sharply focused wit to issues of 'political correctness' and sexual harassment. A serious comedy, it is a stimulating contribution to the continuing debate on our changing social values. | ||||
Careers |
| 1st Produced: | - | 197-? | ||
| Company: | Australian Performing Group | |||
| 1st Published: | Script in the Hanger Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, Australia. http://www.austlit.edu.au >>> | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | Stage Revue | - | Parts: | Male | - | Female | 2 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: - | ||||
Celluloid Heroes |
| 1st Produced: | Sydney | 1980 | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Script in the Hanger Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, Australia. http://www.austlit.edu.au >>> | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | - | Parts: | Male | 7 | Female | 3 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: | ||||
Charitable Intent |
| 1st Produced: | 2001 | |||
| Company: | Melbourne Festival | |||
| 1st Published: | 2007 | |||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | One Act | Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 6 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: part of the Jack Manning Trilogy | ||||
Synopsis: This play focuses on the contradictions that erupt as workplace values change | ||||
Club, The |
| 1st Produced: | Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne | 1977 | ||
| Company: | Melbourne Theatre Company | |||
| 1st Published: | 1978 | |||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | - |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: aka Players, aka The Team | ||||
Synopsis: Williamsons famous play about the uses and abuses of managerial power, which in 1976 foreshadowed the great changes that Australian football has since endured, proves even more prescient since the rise and fall of Super League. This is a play set behind the scenes, a head-on tackle of brawn versus bureaucracy. | ||||
Coming of Stork, The |
| 1st Produced: | 1970 | |||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | 1974 | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | One Act | Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 1 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: | ||||
Conversation, A |
| 1st Produced: | Ensemble Theatre, Sydney | 2001 | ||
| Company: | Ensemble Theatre | |||
| 1st Published: | 2007 | |||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | One Act | Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 4 |
| Parts Other: | voice | |||
Notes: part of the Jack Manning Trilogy | ||||
Synopsis: The family of a rapist and murderer are confronted by the family of his victim | ||||
Corporate Vibes |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Farce | Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 4 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: A real estate developer faces a staff mutiny. When a man who is accustomed to getting his own way finds himself confronted by a softly spoken mediator and a demand for buildings which 'delight the eye' the stage is set for a vintage farce. | ||||
Dead White Males |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 5 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: Postmodernism versus liberal humanism - can an older male academic convert a young female student to a post-structural, post-patriarchal view of literature and seduce her at the same time? | ||||
Dealing With Abos |
| 1st Produced: | - | 197-? | ||
| Company: | Australian Performing Group | |||
| 1st Published: | in Collected plays 2, Currency Plays, Sydney | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | Stage Revue | - | Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | - |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: - | ||||
Department, The |
| 1st Produced: | Adelaide, Australia | 1974 | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | 1975 | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 8 | Female | 2 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: A staff meeting of the Engineering Dept in a College of Advanced Education is the occasion in this play for an acute dissection of the workings of bureaucracy and the absurd politicking needed to support it | ||||
Don's Party |
| 1st Produced: | Melbourne | 1971 | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | 1973 | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 5 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: On election night 1969 Don and Kath give a party to watch the results. As the tide turns against Labor the good cheer palls and the faded ideals and disappointed hopes of the characters begin to show | ||||
Emerald City |
| 1st Produced: | Sydney | 1987 | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | 1987 | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 3 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: A screen writer and his publisher wife move to the Emerald City where fame and fortune are there for the taking, but surprises are in store. | ||||
Face To Face |
| 1st Produced: | Ensemble Theatre, Sydney | 1999 | ||
| Company: | Ensemble Theatre | |||
| 1st Published: | 2007 | |||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | One Act | Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 4 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: part of the Jack Manning Trilogy | ||||
Synopsis: an emotional debate which draws out a trail of responsibility extending from Glen to his work-mates, his mother, his employers and to society itself. | ||||
Flame Out |
| 1st Produced: | - | 197-? | ||
| Company: | Australian Performing Group | |||
| 1st Published: | Script in the Hanger Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, Australia. http://www.austlit.edu.au >>> | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | Stage Revue | - | Parts: | Male | 1 | Female | - |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: - | ||||
Flatfoot |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | Comedy | Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 1 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: Flatfoot (aka Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus) pops up in the 21st Century, enraged to find his ideas have been plundered through the ages by everyone from Shakespeare to sitcom writers. To prove his point, he takes us back to Ancient Rome where he must convince his producer that his new play will be a hit, won't offend the Roman censor and won't give servants ideas about their station. But the play hasn't been written, so Plautus must act it out before the cynical producer, making it up as he goes along. Pandemonium lurks just around the corner as, with a little help from his Greek wife, ex-dancer and seductress extraordinaire, they tackle all ten roles between them. A boisterous comedy for all ages | ||||
Great Man, The |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | One Act | Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 3 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: A volatile group gathers to plan the funeral of a Labor Party icon. They all claim to know the truth about him but their recollections are coloured by their own interests. | ||||
Handful of Friends, A |
| 1st Produced: | Adelaide, Australia | 1976 | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | 1976 | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | 2 Act | Play/Drama | Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 3 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: Russell, an academic, and his wife Wendy have recently returned from the US. Mark, a filmmaker, has just released a movie in which his actor/journalist wife, Sally, plays her first major role. Mutual friends believe the main characters are based on Russell and Wendy, and that they are cruelly satirised. Jill, Russell's sister who is devoted to her brother is angry and also resents Sally for incidents in their earlier lives. Old memories and antagonisms surface, triggered by the film, and what at first appears as envy and malice take on a different perspective as the group explode briefly into violence and settle for an uneasy reconciliation. Noone emerges honourably but they share the wisdom of hindsight. | ||||
Heretic |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | - | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page | |||
| Genre: | - | - | Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 5 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: In 1925, American anthropologist Margaret Mead visited Samoa on a research trip and thought she had discovered a utopian society free of the restrictive social conventions of western societies. Her revelations of promiscuity among Samoan teenagers made her the guru of generations of academics and the 1960s aficionados of sex, rock'n'roll and free speech. In 1983 Australian academic Derek Freeman exposed Mead's findings as fraudulent and revealed the story of how and why the Samoans had duped her. Heretic explores the lifetime obsessions of two remarkable, headstrong protagonists. It also takes us inside the psyche of Derek Freeman, an iconoclast who was prepared to risk his marriage and shatter his career in the pursuit of truth | ||||
Hire Purchase |
| 1st Produced: | - | 197-? | ||
| Company: | Australian Performing Group | |||
| 1st Published: | Script in the Hanger Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, Australia. http://www.austlit.edu.au >>> | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | Stage Revue | - | Parts: | Male | 2 | Female | 1 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: - | ||||
Imperialism Sketch |
| 1st Produced: | - | 197-? | ||
| Company: | Australian Performing Group | |||
| 1st Published: | Script in the Hanger Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, Australia. http://www.austlit.edu.au >>> | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | Stage Revue | - | Parts: | Male | 7 | Female | 1 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: - | ||||
Influence |
| 1st Produced: | - | - | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | - | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | - | Parts: | Male | - | Female | - |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: Ziggy Blasco is a talk-back host whose power rests in his influence. He fills Sydney's airwaves with his appeals to common-sense, his hard line with terrorists and his lashings at political correctness. Politicians beg to be on his show. He is courted by the world. A powerful public figure. But in the private sphere Ziggy's influence is fading away. He can barely maintain a conversation with his glamorous young wife Carmela. His daughter swings between truancy and dabbling on the stock market - with his money. His sister despises all that he stands for and while Ziggy preaches to the metropolis that there is no such thing as the working poor, his own housekeeper struggles to provide for her family. Now his elderly migrant father reveals a dark family secret and threatens to go to the press. Just how far does Ziggy's influence reach? A scathing and bitingly funny play about the media personalities that dominate our lives and the divisions that can shatter families. | ||||
Jugglers Three |
| 1st Produced: | Melbourne | 1972 | ||
| Company: | - | |||
| 1st Published: | Currency Press, Sydney | 1974 | ||
| To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||
| Genre: | - | One Act | Parts: | Male | 5 | Female | 2 |
| Parts Other: | - | |||
Notes: - | ||||
Synopsis: | ||||