On The Wallaby: Nicholas Enright

An ebullient play inspired by the stories of the homeless men 'on the wallaby' who roamed the Australian roads in search of work during the Great Depression. The story traces the misfortunes of the O'Brien family, waterside workers in Port Adelaide. The effect of eight years' of unemployment, birth, separation, strikes and subsistence on the family are seen in the light of the political strategies of the time. It also incorporates the death of the old music hall theatre and the rise of the age of mass communication.