The Department (play)

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The Department
Written by David Williamson
Date premiered15 November 1974
Place premiered The Playhouse, Adelaide, South Australlia
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
SettingUniversity

The Department is a 1974 play by Australian playwright David Williamson. It was adapted for television in 1980.

Contents

Synopsis

The plot revolves around political intrigue at a university department, [1] which Williamson based on his experiences as a lecturer at Swinburne Tech. [2]

Background and production history

The Department was commissioned by the inaugural artistic director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia, George Ogilvie, [3] and premiered in 1974 at the opening of The Playhouse at the newly-built Adelaide Festival Centre. It then transferred to Melbourne and Sydney, [4] and enjoyed national success. [3]

About the play, Williamson commented: "There are a lot of issues raised in the play but I offer no solution for them... I don't know what the solutions are". [5]

TV adaptation

"The Department (play)"
Australian Theatre Festival episode
Directed by Brian Bell
Written by David Williamson
Based onthe play by David Williamson
Original air date1980 (1980)
Running time65 minutes

The play was adapted into a television film in 1980 which was produced by Noel Ferrier as part of the Australian Theatre Festival , a series of adaptations of Australian plays filmed by ABC Television. [6] [7]

Cast

Reception

The Canberra Times called it "a poorly constructed exercise". [8]

One reviewer in The Age called it "a success... some remarkable goods". [9] Another reviewer from that paper called it "an excellent production". [10]

A critic from The Sydney Morning Herald wrote "it's a long time since I've seen a better sustained performance in a locally produced TV play". [11]

Jack Hibberd, whose play A Toast to Melba was also filmed as part of the festival, called it "dreary, mundane. Awesomely so. I'm not impressed by that 'slice of life' realism style. It's just theatrical journalism". [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Australian theatre: the playwrights' views". The Canberra Times . Vol. 49, no. 14, 068. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 May 1975. p. 11. Retrieved 2 May 2019– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ Cochrane, Peter (14 March 1997). "Williamson's World". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 15.
  3. 1 2 "Vale former Artistic Director George Ogilvie". State Theatre Company. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "New Williamson play". The Canberra Times . Vol. 50, no. 14, 225. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 November 1975. p. 13. Retrieved 2 May 2019– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ Radic, Leonard (16 November 1974). "Just a brief rest between his premieres". The Age . p. 20.
  6. ↑ Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p43
  7. ↑ "'Pilgrim's Progress' to Canberra in July". The Canberra Times . Vol. 54, no. 16, 248. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 March 1980. p. 11. Retrieved 4 October 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "TELEVISION An affectionate play". The Canberra Times . Vol. 54, no. 16, 394. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 14 August 1980. p. 14. Retrieved 4 October 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ Courts, Brian (25 July 1980). "Waiting for Williamson". The Age. p. 2.
  10. ↑ McCreadie, Jane (24 July 1980). "Play's TV Version Adopts Stage Simplicity". The Age. p. 38.
  11. ↑ Semmler, Clement (30 July 1980). "Semmler on Television". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 8.
  12. ↑ McCreadie, Jane (31 July 1980). "Dame Nellie Melba in Counterpoint". The Age. p. 30.
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