In the late sixties, an engineering lecturer had a wild party at his home in suburban Melbourne. It was election night, and tensions were high.

The lecturer had aspirations to be a playwright and what he saw going on around him, well, he reckoned it might make a good play.

The aspiring playwright was David Williamson, and the party inspired Don’s Party, one of Australia’s first ever home grown blockbusters.

Here, we chart the story from an AV Jennings stage in Bundoora to the many, many productions since.

Links:

National Library of Australia On Stage Exhibition

Papers of David Williamson at the National Library of Australia

Guests:

David Williamson, Playwright

Credits:

Melanie Tait - writer, producer and presenter of Off Stage

Kim Lester - technical producer and sound engineer of Off Stage