The contributions in this volume cover political theatre; Indigenous theatre; playwrights concerned with cultural identity; key Shakespearean productions; the impact of funding and arts policy on theatre, dramaturgy and innovative projects; leading directors on rehearsal processes; theatre for young people; regional theatre including the Northern Territory; and physical theatre and Circus Oz.

Vast amounts of research into the history of Australian theatre has been concentrated into this handy reference guide for the theatre lover and student.

New theatre companies with a passion for Australianness, were created in the late 1960s in opposition to stuffy, mostly imported theatre of no relevance to themselves. The new drama explored Australian themes and issues, in a theatre where the playwright had pride of place.

A significant social and cultural history of Indigenous theatre across Australia. As well as using archival sources and national and independent theatre company records, much of this history is drawn from interviews with individuals who have shaped contemporary Indigenous theatre in Australia - including Bob Maza, Jack Charles, Gary Foley, Justine Saunders, Wesley Enoch, Ningali and John Harding.

This is a dual biography, the story of Louis Esson, the distinguished playwright who has been called 'the father of Australian drama', and his wife Hilda, who did her own pioneering in the theatre and in public health. The plays they wrote and performed reflected the drama of their lives: creative angst, intellectual conflict, untimely death, romantic entanglement, jealousy and despair. This book is an exploration of a developing Australian culture and identity.

This timely account of contemporary political theatre in Australia investigates how and why eight leading playwrights maintain the rage on stage. Interviews with writers include: Andrew Bovell, Patricia Cornelius, Reg Cribb, Ben Ellis, Wesley Enoch, Hannie Rayson, Stephen Sewell and Katherine Thomson.

This highly illuminating book about the life and work of Louis Nowra, is an important contribution to our understanding of one of Australia's major writers. The author is a lecturer in the English Department of the University of Queensland.

Includes 'The one day of the year' (Alan Seymour); 'Ned Kelly' (Douglas Stewart); and 'The tower' (Hal Porter).

This book tells the stories of some of Australia's largely forgotten playwrights -- women who wrote drama that was performed on the nation's stages and broadcast across the airwaves from the late 1920s to the late 1960s. The book incorporates personal narratives within a broader social and cultural history which shaped the writing lives of these authors.