David Williamson

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David Keith Williamson Template:Post-nominals (born 1942) is an Australian playwright, who has also written screenplays and teleplays. He became known in the early 1970s with his political comic drama Don's Party, and other well-known plays include The Club, Travelling North, and Emerald City.<ref name="dw">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life and education

David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1942, and was brought up in Bairnsdale. He initially studied mechanical engineering at the University of Melbourne from 1960, but left and graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1965.<ref name="Austlit">Template:Cite web</ref> His early forays into the theatre were as an actor and writer of skits for the Engineers' Revue at Melbourne University's Union Theatre at lunchtime during the early 1960s, and as a satirical sketch writer for Monash University student reviews and the Emerald Hill Theatre Company.

After a brief stint as design engineer for GM Holden, Williamson became a lecturer in mechanical engineering and thermodynamics at Swinburne University of Technology (then Swinburne Technical College) in 1966 while studying social psychology as a postgraduate part-time at the University of Melbourne. He completed a Master of Arts in Psychology in 1970, and then completed further postgraduate research in social psychology. Williamson later lectured in social psychology at Swinburne, where he remained until 1972.<ref name="Austlit" />

Career

Template:BLP sources section Williamson first turned to writing and performing in plays in 1967 with La Mama Theatre Company and the Pram Factory, and rose to prominence in the early 1970s, with works such as Don's Party (later turned into a 1976 film), a comic drama set during the 1969 federal election; and The Removalists (1971). He also collaborated on the screenplays for Gallipoli (1981) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). Williamson's work as a playwright focuses on themes of politics, loyalty and family in contemporary urban Australia, particularly in two of its major cities, Melbourne and Sydney.<ref name="Austlit" />

Major stage works include The Club, The Department, Travelling North, The Perfectionist, Emerald City, Money and Friends and Brilliant Lies.<ref name="Austlit" />

Recent work has included Dead White Males, a satirical approach to postmodernism and university ethics; Up for Grabs, which starred Madonna in its London premiere; and the Jack Manning Trilogy (Face To Face, Conversation, Charitable Intent) which take as their format community conferencing, a new form of restorative justice, in which Williamson became interested in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In recent years he has alternated work between larger stages (including Soul Mates, Amigos and Influence – all premiered with the Sydney Theatre Company) and smaller ones (including the Manning trilogy, Flatfoot and Operator, which premiered at the Ensemble Theatre).

In 2005, he announced his retirement from main-stage productions, although he has continued to write new plays for the mainstage, many produced with the Ensemble Theatre. He had a serious health problem, cardiac arrhythmia, which had required frequent hospitalisation. An operation resolved this issue, but then in 2009 he had a mild stroke, from which he recovered fully.<ref name=shmith/>

In 2007, Lotte's Gift, a one-woman show starring Karin Schaupp, which traced a journey through Schaupp's own life as well as those of her mother and grandmother (the Lotte of the title), was produced.

In 2021, his memoir, Home Truths, was published by HarperCollins. Reviewing the book for The Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Craven wrote "He comes across as a likeable, flawed fellow with no more blindness than people of lesser talent".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other activities

Williamson was instrumental in the founding of the Noosa Long Weekend Festival, a cultural festival in Noosa, Queensland, where he lives.Template:Cn

In August 2006 Cate Molloy, former Australian Labor Party member of the Queensland Parliament for Noosa, announced that Williamson would be her campaign manager as she sought to recontest her seat as an Independent.Template:Cn

Personal life

Williamson is married to Kristin Williamson (sister of independent filmmaker Chris Löfvén) who have homes in Sydney and on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. They have five adult children.<ref name=shmith>Michael Shmith, "Lunch with David Williamson", The Age, 7 September 2013, Life&Style, p. 3</ref>

His son, Rory Williamson, and his stepson, Felix Williamson, are both actors. Rory starred as Stork in the 2001 revival of The Coming of Stork at the Stables Theatre in Sydney, produced by Felix's company, the Bare Naked Theatre Company.Template:Citation needed

Honours and awards

File:David Williamson Sydney Writers Walk plaque.jpg
Plaque in the Sydney Writers Walk series at Circular Quay commemorating David Williamson, with a quote from Emerald City

Australian Film Institute Awards

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001.<ref name=lpa>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2005, Williamson received the JC Williamson Award, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance.<ref name="Helpallwinners">Template:Cite web</ref>

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Writings

Plays

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Screenplays

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References

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