The plot revolves around political intrigue at a university department,[1] which Williamson based on his experiences as a lecturer at Swinburne Tech.
[2] The Department was commissioned by the inaugural artistic director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia, George Ogilvie,[3] and premiered in 1974 at the opening of the The Playhouse at the newly-built Adelaide Festival Centre.
[5] The play was adapted into a television film in 1980 which was produced by Noel Ferrier as part of the Australian Theatre Festival, a series of adaptations of Australian plays filmed by ABC Television.
[10] A critic from The Sydney Morning Herald wrote "it's a long time since I've seen a better sustained performance in a locally produced TV play".
[11] Jack Hibberd, whose play A Toast of Melba was also filmed as part of the festival, called it "dreary, mundane.