Sydney Reviews

Tracy Mann deep dives into diva in David Williamson’s latest play, ARIA.

What a carve up. Not quite the kingdom bequest of King Lear, yet there are resonance and refrains as matriarch, Monique, gathers her three sons and their spouses to an annual recital where the wannabe warbler sings from the song book of great operas and undermines each of the daughters-in-law.

Jack Starkey-Gill and Sam O’Sullivan play the eldest boys, non identical twins, Liam and Daniel, with Rowan Davie playing the youngest, Charlie.

Liam, first out the womb by minutes, is a political animal, focused on becoming State premier, a branch stacking back stabber of formidable zeal. His quest for the pinnacle of political power comes at the cost of his parenting and neglect of his wife, Chrissy (Suzannah McDonald), crushed by a quartet of kids who treat their mother similarly as their father.

Daniel’s wife, Judy (Danielle King), is a successful lawyer with a social conscience, determined to pull their only child out of the private school she’s attending and place her in the state school system, causing apoplexy now to the status riven Monique.

Divorced and remarried to Midge (Tamara Lee Bailey), Charlie bears the slings and arrows of Monique’s disdain of her job as a beautician.

Privilege, power, sex and snobbery drive this latest play from David Williamson, who, with nothing left to prove, proves himself to still be a master of the well written play, buzzing with zingers, honing in our hubris and hypocrisies, confronting our denials.

Janine Watson’s slick production keeps the action in constant flow, aided and abetted by Rose Montgomery’s splendid set of an affluent living room that leads off to a garden patio.

A hundred minutes of recriminations, resentment and revelations lead to a robust resolution.

Nearing the end of the play, Daniel says “Okay, grievances aired so all we have to do now is ride out our mother’s aria with a straight face.”

Good luck, audience.