At a politically turbulent time when national identity is fractured, this book examines the ways in which Australia's leading playwrights have interrogated, problematised and tried to make sense of the nation.

Introduction: Re-visioning the Nation on the Mainstage 1. Re-visioning the Comedy 1a. "Fuck Western classics": Anchuli Felicia King and Michelle Law in Conversation 2. Postmigrant Plays in Australia 2a. "Writing into otherness": Michele Lee and S. Shakthidharan in Conversation 3. Re-visioning Political Theatre and 'Aussie Naturalism' 3a. "We're very anti-politics": Angela Betzien and Patricia Cornelius in Conversation 4. Theatre of the Anthropocene 4a. "We're a teenage species": Andrew Bovell and David Finnigan in Conversation 5. Re-visioning Landscape from the Regions 5a. "Sorry about the swearing": Mary Anne Butler and Angus Cerini in Conversation 6. Adapt, or Else 6a. "I don't adapt, I write": Kate Mulvany and Tom Wright in Conversation 7. Imagined Lives 7a. "You gotta glitter it up": Tommy Murphy and Alana Valentine in Conversation 8. Telling Stories in Person 8a. "I'm a polite visitor in this world": Glace Chase and Lally Katz in Conversation 9. Conclusion: Australian Playwriting in Lockdown