Similarities Between Norm And Ahmed And The Removalists

Alex Buzo and David Williamson are two Australian playwrights who have encapsulated what it is to be Australian through Norm and Ahmed and The Removalists respectively. Through their command of dramatic styles and conventions they have effectively presented images onstage which challenge the Australian identity and the ideals which are synonymous with the Australian persona. Black comedy and heightened realism along with the theatrical conventions of character, language, movement and lighting are all imperative in the creation of the playwright’s image and its overall effect on the audience.

The presentation of the ‘ocker Australian’ character is of great importance in strengthening the characters who in turn lend weight to the overall effect …show more content…
The audience is left with the image of Ahmed’s limp body strewn over a handrail as Norm, the epitome of the average Australian man, walks off saying ‘fucking boong’. Through Norm’s complexities, Buzo irritates, enrages and offends audiences and at the same time has them laughing at the platitudes, clichés and slang of Norm, reveling in Black Comedy. With these language conventions, Buzo paints an image of Norm who is trying to compete intellectually with the foreign student who speaks better english than him. He makes trite remarks which are offered as profound and it becomes obvious that he is being insincere. “We’re forging the bonds of friendship with our Asian …show more content…
When Ahmed tries to escape from this high stakes situation, Norm apprehends him and as I have seen through work in blocking, naturally starts to circle the vulnerable Pakistani student in a predatory fashion. “You’re insinuating that I’m some kind of drunken pervert...why do you keep backing away from me then? Answer me that.’ In this instance Norm actually confronts Ahmed directly, and as an audience, we see and share in the feelings of entrapment. The power behind the vocal delivery of these threats became evident in the exploration of these scenes with neutral tones. All emotion, power and status was lost and the subtext was no longer prevalent or effective. This image onstage is one which is also seen in The Removalists when Kenny is handcuffed to the doorknob and is being beaten by Simmonds. Dialogue makes us question our position on the beating of Kenny; ‘You bitch! Go and dob me in because i gave you a bit of a shove’. Although powerless now, Kenny has a history of abuse and this asks the question ‘Does abusing the abuser really teach him anything?’ These images do provoke an empathetic response as over the course of the plays, the audience naturally form emotional bonds with the ‘underdog’ character and are made to feel violated and