The Removalists

The Removalists
Directed by	Tom Jeffrey
Written by	David Williamson
Produced by	Richard Brennan, Margaret Fink
Starring	Peter Cummins, John Hargreaves, Kate Fitzpatrick, Jackie Weaver, Chris Haywood
Music by	Galapagos Duck
Release date	1975
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Template:FilmAustralia
Language	English

The Removalists (1971) is a play written by Australian playwright David Williamson. The main issues the play addresses are violence, specifically domestic violence, and the abuse of power and authority. The story is supposed to be a microcosm of 1970s Australian society.

It was adapted into a Margaret Fink-produced film in 1975, starring Peter Cummins as Simmonds, John Hargreaves as Ross, Kate Fitzpatrick as Kate, Jackie Weaver as Fiona, Martin Harris as Kenny, and Chris Haywood as the Removalist.

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Characters

There are six characters in the play. There are some unseen characters, however, such as a car salesman, Fiona's Mother and Kenny's baby daughter Sophie.

Simmonds

Simmonds is the police sergeant who abuses his power by threatening the new recruit, Ross. He is a chauvinistic hypocrite who has no respect for women, including his own wife and daughter. He sees to satisfy his sexually perverse needs through the pretext of examining his clients, such as Fiona, for marks "apparent to the medically untrained eye". His clients, usually victims of circumstances, are in desperate need of help.

Through the character Simmonds, Williamson shows that the authority conferred upon society can be exploitative and violent. Williamson demonstrates that should abuse occur in a police station and under the witness of policemen, their victims are rendered powerless. Through the portrayal of the policemen as powerful and somewhat uncontrollable in their nature towards the end of the play, Williamson displays and highlights a serious social issue of the time, therefore making it one of his most remembered works.

Ross

Ross is a new recruit who was sent to Simmonds' station after finishing police training. Throughout the play, he is depicted as a naive and inexperienced officer despite coming from an educated background. He is often forced to follow Simmonds constant demands and listen to Simmonds' comments on his own inadequacies. This is shown when Simmonds questions Kenny: "Do you think he's (Ross) lacking in initiative?" Ross comes across as a nervous character in the beginning of the play, but his violent and uncontrollable behaviour is raised through his sudden, unexpected attack on Kenny, which inevitably led to Kenny's death.

Kate

Kate Mason is married with three children. The wife of a dentist, she enjoys an upper class lifestyle. Her children attend one of Melbourne's "better" (more exclusive/expensive) schools. Kate forms a feminine mirror to Simmonds. They both like to be in a position of power, which is evident of Kate's controlling of her sister Fiona. Like Simmonds, Kate has been unfaithful to her partner on numerous occasions.

Fiona

Fiona Carter is Kate's sister. Fiona wants to have a separation from her husband Kenny, after being beaten by him, but does not want a divorce. She is a passive housewife and fits into the stereotypical gender roles of 1970s Australia. She is married to Kenny, and has a baby daughter Sophie. Fiona is insecure, vulnerable and hesitant to leave.

Kenny

Kenny is depicted as a "larrikin" working-class man, and represents the stereotypical egoistic "Aussie" male of the 70s. The play's action is instigated by Kenny's beating of his wife Fiona, the reporting of which prompts her visit to Ross and Simmonds's police station, and her move out of their shared home. Kenny is very hot-headed and his vocabulary is vulgar Australian vernacular.

The play's major plot twist occurs in the final minutes when Kenny, despite apparently having recovered from a beating by Ross to the point where he begins to negotiate a deal with the two officers, dies suddenly and mid-conversation from a brain hemorrhage. In the end Kenny seems to be the victim.

The Removalist

The removalist (Rob) is the man who moves the furniture out of Fiona and Kenny's house when they are separating. The Removalist represents the everyman who 'sits on the fence'. His main concern is getting paid for the work, and running off to the next 'job'. He represents another part of Australian society whom are passive in times of crisis. The removalist is a curious character in the play. He plays no role in involving himself in helping others. The only thing we know is that he has 'ten thousand dollars worth of machinery tickin' over there'. The role of the Removalist, as well as being one of the plays namesakes, is to be a symbol of the outside world, society at the time, and is where the plays meaning grows. He watches the bashing without a worry, sometimes seeing humour in it. The fact that he does not react as the audience does, not even helping Kenny when he is begged, shows a stereotypical society of the time: as long as their own work is done what they witness is not worth the time of day, and generally a blind eye is turned when the police are in power, even if what they are doing is wrong. " Sorry mate. I've got a pretty simple philosophy. If there's work I work, if nobody interferes with me then I don't interfere with nobody."

Issues

The play deals with a lot of issues/themes/concerns and expresses these through the 'new age theatre' that David Williamson enages his audiences through. For the first time Australians were seeing themselves on stage. Symbolically David Williamson explores Australian society through the characters, themes and concerns. For example, "The Removalist" represents the everyman who 'sits on the fence'. The use of the 'police force' is interesting too - it is a blackly humorous pun, given the force and violence that the two police characters use.

Violence is a constant theme throughout the play. Words such as 'fuck', 'shit' and 'cunt' are provocative and confronting but also true of the 'ocker' language and mannerisms that Kenny, Ross and Simmonds embody.

Background

The play is set in 1971 - a turbulent time in Australian history and society. In 1956, Melbourne hosted the Olympic games, and television was launched in Australia. Both these events meant Australians began to see more of the world, and had a different picture of their place in it. In 1962,changes were made enabling the indigenous Aboriginal population to vote. In the same year, the Vietnam War began, which led to an increasing Australian involvement, including the introduction of National service (1964.) In 1964, The Beatles toured Australia. Young girls went crazy, and society changed forever. In 1966, the Australian Labour Party dropped the White Australia Policy as part of its party's platform. 1969 saw Man walk on the moon, and Australian Women getting the right to equal pay. In the late 1960's and into the early 70's, Australian Society was getting more publicly vocal - women's right, indigenous rights, protesting against the Vietnam war, etc. With a string of public trials against corruption in the police force, The Removalists is an examination of Australian Society at one of its most turbulent times.

David Williamson aimed to create an Australian identity in international drama. The Removalists uses generic characters to which the Australian audience can relate to. Williamson used familiar issues in his society such as corruption and violence in the police force and reflected them in the Removalisits.

External links

• Teacher's Notes on David Williamson and The Removalists
• David Williamson's The Removalists - An online Study Guide for Year 11 English
• The Blurb - Moving Out
• The Removalist at the National Film and Sound Archive
• The Removalists at IMDb