Power Plays

Australian Theatre and the Public Agenda

At a time of renewed public interest in the power of contemporary Australian theatre, Power Plays investigates the why and the how of some of Australia’s most successful mainstream playwrights—Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Reg Cribb, Ben Ellis, Wesley Enoch, Hannie Rayson, Stephen Sewell and Katherine Thomson—all of whom are passionate about the theatre as a forum for public discussion.These writers explore the cultural, political and economic life of Australia, and they write to influence public debate. Their plays explicitly conjure Australian characters, places and idioms, but they also challenge conventional assumptions about the nation and our sense of community. Through a combination of interviews with the writers and an astute discussion of their recent plays, Hilary Glow gives an insight into the motivations and processes of playwrights and sheds light on how they work.'Hilary Glow’s excellent book has persuaded me that our theatre remains in safe hands. It shows that ... this generation is dissecting the new preoccupations of power—the decline of primary industry, the new demography and old racism, the politics of fear, the challenges of globalisation—as acutely as ever through the lives of ordinary people.’ - Katharine Brisbane