David Williamson is a character even he would have had difficulty dreaming up. He is Australia’s (probably the world’s) most successful and prolific living dramatist with a track record that leaves all others in the dust. Yet at the self-declared end of a 50+ year career, he remains deep down as sensitively story-driven as when he started out.

Opening with a passage of typical rhythm and humour: “Five days before I was born the Japanese bombed Darwin, and Australia had finally realised that far from being bandy-legged, badly trained and so shortsighted they couldn’t shoot straight, the Japanese were formidable conquerors on an inexorable march south…” Home Truths is a memoir that’s all about story. And that’s not as common to the genre as one might think, or hope.

It can be guaranteed that many readers will dive instantly for the index to see whether they’re mentioned or, worse, not mentioned. Also, whether or not he has been as tough on himself as he is likely to have been on others (spoiler alert: he is clear-eyed about his own shortcomings). What is...