When David Williamson calls, you pick up the phone, says Mark Kilmurry, Artistic Director of Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre.

Chances are, he says, by the end of the call, you’ll be slotting a new play into an upcoming season.

“It was typical David in that it came right out of the blue,” says Kilmurry. “He said it was something he had to get down. I love it when he gets passionate about an issue.”

Williamson’s new play, The Great Divide, premieres at the Ensemble from 8 March, 2024 and is inspired by the great rifts in Australian culture, Kilmurry says. “I can’t give too much away but the main character is based very loosely on a famous female mining magnate you may have heard of. The play is David’s take on what happening in Australia right now: the friction between those with money and those without; the collision of mining interests with the environment. He’s still so good at zeroing in on the big issues.”

Williamson’s is just one name in a season that brings together Ensemble favourites – writers and actors alike –...