Romeril's writing conveys the immediacy of the times that stems from his beginnings as an agitprop writer, but he focuses on everyday lives. The plays in Damage explore twentieth-century stresses and strains, the damage we do and the damage done to us. This collection, introduced by John McCallum, includes three previously unpublished works.
Jonah
is a Brechtian musical reinvention of Louis Stone's novel of the same name.
Top End
is a political drama set in Darwin during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.
Lost Weekend
takes a class-based look at 'Australianess'.
The Floating World
is the story of a returned serviceman's descent into madness on a cruise ship bound for Japan.