David Williamson has been in the public gaze for almost 40 years. Plays such as Don's Party, The Removalists, The Club and Emerald City - and films such as Gallipoli - have made him a national treasure. Equally visible on the political stage, Williamson has been famously anti-Vietnam and pro-Whitlam, the confidant of Paul Keating and the scourge of John Howard.
Paradoxically, though, Williamson's private life has been even more public. He has made his plays out of it.
Now, the woman who knows him the best has described the life of - and life with - Australia's most beloved playwright. David and Kristin Williamson share backstage stories with Caroline Baum.
KRISTIN WILLIAMSON (INTERSTATE) KRISTIN WILLIAMSON is a journalist and author with a background in theatre, education and history. Her books include the novels Tanglewood, The Jacaranda Years, Treading on Dreams and Women on the Rocks, and a biography of anti-apartheid activists the Watson brothers, Brothers to Us. She has been married to David Williamson for 35 years. Her most recent book is David Williamson: Behind the Scenes.
CAROLINE BAUM (LOCAL) Caroline Baum was the arts editor of Melbourne’s Sunday Herald and the features editor at Vogue Australia. She has presented ABC TV’s book show Between the Lines, and was executive producer of ABC Radio National’s Arts Today. She has also hosted Foxtel’s book show Talking Books. Caroline became the founding editor of Good Reading magazine in 2001. In 2006 she produced and co-wrote her first television documentary, In Search of Bony, for SBS. Her company, Two Heads Media, currently has several TV projects in development. She is a regular contributor to national newspapers and magazines.
DAVID WILLIAMSON initially studied mechanical engineering at Melbourne University, writing skits on the side for the Engineers’ Revue. After a brief stint at General Motors Holden, he devoted himself to playwriting in 1967. David rose to prominence with works such as Don's Party and The Removalists. He collaborated on the screenplays for Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously. Other important works have included The Club, The Department, Travelling North, The Perfectionist, Emerald City, Money, Friends and Brilliant Lies and Dead White Males.
He recently co-wrote Balibo with Robert Connolly. David has been married to wife Kristin for 35 years. Kristin is the biographer of David in the newly released David Williamson: Behind the Scenes.
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