Buzo, Alexander (1944-2006), an Australian playwright, became noted for his wry humor and observations about human affairs. He rose to prominence in 1968, when legal actions for obscenity were taken against his satiric comedy Norm and Ahmed after its first productions. The two-character play portrays a meeting between a middle-aged Australian and a Pakistani student, and explores racism in Australia.
In 1972, Buzo won the Australian Literature Society’s Gold Medal for his drama Macquarie, a study of Lachlan Macquarie, one of the first governors of New South Wales. The Australian settings of many of Buzo’s plays are only incidental to the plots, which explore human actions and behavior independently of place or nationality. Makassar Reef (1978) is unusual in being set in a tropical harbor town. Buzo’s other plays include The Front Room Boys (1970), Coralie Lansdowne Says No (1974), Vicki Madison Clocks Out (1976), Big River (1980), The Marginal Farm (1983), Stingray (1987), and Shellcove Road (1989).
In the 1980’s, Buzo began writing books that humorously explored the techniques of the playwright. His best-known book on this subject is Tautology: I Don’t Want to Sound Incredulous But I Can’t Believe It (1980), published in a revised edition as Tautology Too (1982). His other nonfiction includes Meet the New Class (1981), Glancing Blows: Life and Language in Australia (1987), and The Young Person’s Guide to the Theatre and Almost Everything Else (1988). Buzo’s first novel, The Search for Harry Allway, a comic detective tale, appeared in 1985. He also wrote the novel Prue Flies North (1991).
Alexander John Buzo was born on July 23, 1944, in Sydney. He earned a B.A. degree from the University of New South Wales in 1965. Buzo also wrote screenplays and plays for television. Buzo died on Aug. 16, 2006.
