Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows Australian playwright David Williamson recalling his experiences of theatre management early in his career and the difficulty of having Australian plays staged. David Williamson and his wife, Kristin, both recall first meeting on the set of The Removalists at La Mama Theatre in Melbourne. The interviews are intercut with archival photographs of La Mama Theatre and a young David and Kristin Williamson.

Educational value points

• David Williamson, Australia’s most commercially successful playwright, began writing (and performing in) plays in 1968 at La Mama Theatre Company in Melbourne. He has been the recipient of four Australian Film Institute (AFI) and 11 Australian Writers’ Guild Awards. His career spans more than 35 years and his work has encompassed more than 30 theatre, film and television productions.

• Kristin Williamson has a background in theatre, history and education as a performer, teacher and writer. After teaching and lecturing in drama, she changed career paths and took up journalism before becoming a full-time writer. Her books include The Last Bastion (1984), Tanglewood (1993), The Jacaranda Years (1995), Brothers to Us (1997), Treading on Dreams (1998) and Women on the Rocks: A Tale of Two Convicts (2004).

• The archival images include historic photographs of La Mama Theatre Company. The company was established in 1967 by Betty Burstall, who was married to film producer Tim Burstall (1929–2004), to encourage new Australian dramatic productions. Burstall was inspired by experimental theatre, and particularly 'La Mama’ in New York during the 1960s. The Melbourne La Mama is a small, intimate theatre located in an old factory in Carlton, an inner-city suburb. Since its beginnings, La Mama has provided opportunities for Australian playwrights, directors and performers to explore new ideas, new forms of expression and local stories reflective of Australian culture.

• During the 1960s and early 1970s, mainstream theatre management was generally unwilling to support local productions. Before that time there were very few Australian films, television programs or theatre performances being produced as it was thought audiences were not interested in Australian stories. However, in contrast to other theatre establishments in Melbourne, La Mama provided an opportunity for writers, directors and performers to share Australian stories and subject matter. This proved so successful that La Mama is still a working theatre today and has expanded to two main venues, La Mama Theatre and The Courthouse, both in Carlton.

• The interviews reveal that David Williamson and Kristin Green first met and fell in love on the set of The Removalists at La Mama Theatre when they were both acting in the play about male aggression and a woman struggling for liberation. They share their time between Sydney and Queensland and have five children. The Removalists became a launching pad for David Williamson’s career as a playwright, with the play receiving international recognition and widespread acclaim among audiences. The Removalists continues to be performed and is regarded as one of Williamson’s best works.

David Williamson is being interviewed. Black-and-white photographs of one of his theatre productions are seen.
David Williamson, playwright There was an exhilaration when we finally batted our way back into the theatres that we had been locked out of and laid bare the myth that no Australians would go and see an Australian play because our lifestyle was so barren and culturally featureless that there was nothing to write about, so it was useless doing Australian plays. We felt very angry at that received wisdom of the theatre management, so we were elated when we saw packed houses responding to our own work.

To me, the production of The Removalists is significant not just because it worked in this wonderful theatre. Also, it marked a changing point in my life. I met my present wife, Kristin. She turned up as a replacement for the oldest sister and I thought, ‘Who is this wonderful looking woman who has just arrived here?’

Kristin Williamson is interviewed.
Kristin Williamson, David’s wife And I met this author and I told him I thought his play was terrific. Big, tall guy with hands he couldn’t control, that sort of went everywhere, and he used to feel his emotions through his hands, I think, and I thought, ‘That’s very nice’. So, then, he was also in the play. He used to want to act in those days until people told him it wasn’t his forte – he was better at writing – and he played the removalist and I played the older sister and, so, that’s how we met, and it was very romantic and exciting.