The Removalists, David Williamson's multiple prize-winning black comedy, captured audiences first in 1971 with its passionate recognition of the bottled-up aggression inside Australian society. The basic authoritarianism, the confrontation between the sexes which so often passes for human relationships—these were the discoveries which audiences applauded in the young playwright. This was the first in a remarkable series of plays—Don's Party, The Department, The Club, Travelling North—which have since established David Williamson as one of Australia's most important writers.
How deeply the violence he describes in The Removalists is rooted in the Australian character is discussed in the first section of the book, where the eminent criminal lawyer Frank Galbally writes about the police, that acute observer of Australian mores, the late Ian Turner, writes on football and our social habits—and there is a glimpse of the convict history that made us what we are.
