Plays of the 70s: Volume 1 The Legend of King'OMalley; The Joss Adams Show; Mrs Thally F; A Stretch of the Imagination; The Removalists

The plays in this volume were landmarks in the development of a rough new all Australian theatre which celebrated the rude colour of Australian language and more. It was a period of comedy and satire; but as these plays show, beneath the larrikinism was a sharp social criticism at work which saw ordinary people living alienated, exploitative and largely unexamined lives. Included are: The Legend of King O'Malley, by Michael Boody and Bob Ellis, which burst upon the unsuspecting theatre in 1970 and launched it in a new direction; The Joss Adams Show by Alma De Groen examines the ordeal of post-natal depression; Mrs Thally F by John Romeril is based on the true story of a Melbourne housewife convicted of murdering her two husbands; A Stretch of the Imagination by Jack Hibberd, was a turning point in the movement against naturalism in its triumphant use of poetry, vaudeville and myth; and The Removalists, David Williamson's first internationally performed play, has built a classic reputation as a statement on authoritarianism.