Melbourne Reviews

First performed at Melbourne’s La Mama in 1971, David Williamson’s The Removalists holds a place of particular esteem in Australian theatre history. The webpage for the Melbourne Theatre Company season advises that the play’s premiere “… put a wrecking ball through the walls of genteel Australian theatre”. We might wonder, in 2025, how much of Australian culture is left to smash open for scrutiny?

We begin in a police substation in a crime-riddled, inner-Melbourne suburb. The substation is run by middle-aged Sergeant Simmonds (Steve Mouzakis). We are still in the 1970s, as shown by elements like the Sarge’s moustache and slicked back hair. His station is neat and orderly. Industrial-style desks with their attached metal filing cabinets (just part of Set Designer Dale Ferguson’s evocative choices) don’t seem to show much wear and tear. This could be due to the sergeant’s selective interest in the cases that arise.

Seeing the sergeant read a newspaper at his desk, it’s easy to believe he does this a lot. But a new constable, Ross (William McKenna) has just arrived. He’s fresh out of the academy, and keen for a task. There’s a power imbalance, and Simmonds shows that he’ll try approaches, subtle or less so, to get personal information out of Ross, despite the constable’s obvious reticence.

The power games take a new turn when a somewhat downtrodden and demure Fiona (Eloise Mignon) arrives to report violent abuse from husband Kenny (Michael Whalley). Along for moral support is her smartly dressed (and posh-voiced) elder sister Kate (Jessica Clarke). Simmons takes a lot of interest in Fiona’s bruises. A plan is formed for the cops to help the women move Fiona out of her matrimonial home when Kenny’s out drinking. After the sisters depart, Simmons makes it clear to his naïve offsider that this isn’t a simple act of philanthropy.

The only problem is Kenny’s decision to go home early for a change. He’s clearly a man with a short fuse, but knows there are limits to how much he can push the police. As a Removalist (a work-focused Martin Blum) and Ross clear out furniture, hostilities grow. So does the tension, and not everyone is able to manage their frustrations.

The production, directed by Anne-Louise Sarks, is mostly successful at showing us abuses of power, entitlement, and hypocrisy by male characters, excepting our Removalist, who isn’t interested in getting involved when there’s money to make. We may quibble at a few points though. There’s a certain lack of subtlety about a character pontificating about self-control after unnecessary violence.

Also, the tribute to La Mama of having seats on the stage (opposite the main bank of seats), causing actors to “work the room”, might not have helped punters sitting at some angles. Especially in the police station, somewhat often we saw the backs of heads as lines were delivered.

Putting that aside, these male characters aren’t so different to some we might hear about in the news, coward punching outside a bar, or contributing to the especially dreadful recent domestic violence statistics. Given recent accounts of misogyny and “performative toxicity” in schools, it may be that The Removalists has relevance to Australian culture for an uncomfortably long time to come.