Books by Debra Oswald

Things are not going well for the Conway sisters. Dad's just married the Geography teacher, oldest sister Bec's been evicted and Evie's suffering serious issues with her new besties. Michaela has twenty-four hours to solve her sisters' problems before she sits the most important exams of her life. What else could go wrong? A hilarious offering from Debra Oswald, "House on Fire" is guaranteed to put a smile on your lips and light a small flame in your heart. (2 male, 9 female).

After the murder of her husband, Celia has shut herself and her 16-year-old daughter Zoë away, toiling on a peach farm in the middle of nowhere. The arrival of two young people to help during picking season heralds the beginning of the end for Celia''s safe existence. Her daughter falls in love with enigmatic, erratic Kieran, but when the relationship is threatened, they run away together. The safe, perhaps smothering, world that Celia has created unravels; her paranoia and insecurities amplified to full volume. Playing out alongside her fear, we see the increasingly degrading and dangerous lifestyle that the two elopers have fallen into. 2 acts, 2 male, 4 female.

Abusive, cantankerous and burned out by booze, Leo Bailey is one of Australia''s national treasures. A gifted painter and chronic alcoholic, he can no longer take care of himself. His resentful daughter has been through a succession of minders, until Therese comes along, fresh out of jail and determined to make a go of her limited options. This is a tough, funny and big-hearted play. It''s about shame and judgement, about who deserves to be loved and forgiven. It looks at how people exploit each other and where they find the beauty; and the qualities of transcendence, letting go and forgiveness. (2 acts, 2 male, 2 female).

Gary has failed in everything he has attempted. But when he inherits a block of land, he gets an urge to build a nest with Sue-Ann, his angry and pregnant girlfriend... This is a story about Aussie battlers -- battling with each other, the elements and the world in their quest to turn a dream into reality. What begins as satire becomes a moving drama told with humour, compassion and loving detail by a highly original and insightful playwright. (3 male, 2 female).