Potential New Jersey theatre production
The Removalists is an Australian play written in 1971. This play was written by David Williamson and it attempts to paint a picture of Australia during that period. The play was so popular that it was even adopted into the movies a few years after it first came out.
Plot of the Removalist - The play is centres around Constable Neville Ross who has just finished training as a police officer and Sergeant Dan Simmonds who is a veteran police officer. They encounter two women who file a complaint of domestic abuse. The husband of one of the women, Kenny would end up dying at the end of the play, a victim of police brutality. The play is a bleak portrayal of Australian society at the time.
The title is taken from the person who will be taking out the furniture from the home of one of the women. It is meant to symbolize the typical Australian at the time. Someone who was passive and who doesn’t care as to what happens around him as long as he gets paid for what he does. The other characters might beat themselves to death and do corrupt things, but the removalist will just do the thing that he was paid to do.
What it Deals with - All societies suffer from the sort of spectator impassiveness that the writer of the play has tried to tackle. We all come down to the point when we don’t really care about the others around us, as long as we can do what we want and others are not bothering us. The play is pretty violent in both action and in language and that is something that it took from the society that it tried to portray. The foul language used by the actors ring true of the streets.
The Removalist In New Jersey - There is talk now of bringing over The Removalist to New Jersey. The play would not be out of place in the United States. The country is undergoing a lot of changes now, just as Australia was changing back in the 70s when the play was first produced. The characters could all be Americans for their cynicism and their passiveness.
Whichever theatre company manages to bring this critically acclaimed play in New Jersey would be doing everyone a favour, by presenting this timely play for everyone to see now. It would be like holding up a mirror for the audience to look at. If you like to hire some real removalists, find them here.
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