Tracy Mann as Monique in Aria. Photo: Prudence Upton
Monique is the mother-in-law from hell in David Williamson’s biting new comedy. She’s entitled, vain, manipulative, hypocritical, selfish and self-obsessed and who knows why her three adult sons have put up with her for his long, unless it’s just for the adoration (and perhaps some money in her will? – but that is my surmise). Monique’s three boys can do no wrong in her eyes but she makes no secret of her utter disdain for their wives – which, of course, gives Williamson, and director Janine Watson and her delightful cast, the green light for some very caustic humour and the audience a lot of laughs.
The play opens with Monique (Tracy Mann) at home, immaculately dressed and coiffed, awaiting the arrival of her offspring and their partners for what is an annual family gathering to celebrate her sons’ birthdays. It’s an opulent home and the piano in the living room hints at the title of the play. Before Mann’s Monique has even opened her mouth, we know this is a woman who likes everything to be just so, and herself in control. (And Rose Montgomery’s clever set and costume design tell us much about this woman and her family – whether it’s Monique’s wildly expensive ‘plain white shirt’, one of the daughter-in-law’s floral frocks, or one of the son’s choice of wristwear.)
Divorcé Charlie (Rowan Davie), declared as his mother’s favourite, is first to arrive, along with his new, and much younger, partner Midge (Tamara Lee Bailey). Midge’s high heels and orange mini dress are clearly (unspoken) anathema to Monique. What was Charlie thinking? And, heaven forfend, this woman’s a mere beautician.
Liberal politician Daniel (Sam O’Sullivan) and his wife Chrissy (Suzannah McDonald) arrive next and while his mother accepts without question Daniel’s assertion that he will be premier one day, Monique soon takes Chrissy to task for the lack of invitations to come over and see her four grandchildren. (Clearly, Chrissy would rather bite her own head off than spend more time with Monique than absolutely necessary, especially as her husband is too busy to help her raise their children.)
And then we meet Daniel’s twin Liam (Jack Starkey-Gill) and his lawyer wife Judy (Danielle King). Judy is also a totally unsatisfactory daughter-in-law because she comes from the western suburbs, has a successful career and earns more money than her husband.
And so the stage is set for an afternoon of familial disharmony, fuelled by alcohol, which will culminate in Monique performing an aria, to remind the assembled throng that she was once destined for greatness – in her mind, she sacrificed a brilliant career and the illustrious stages of La Scala, the Met and Covent Garden, to marry her (now late) husband and raise her brood.
Each of these four (intelligent) women comes from a different social background and each of them can hold their own; each of the three (privileged) sons is flawed in his assessment of himself. Rather like their mother, they are not as brilliant as they think. Of course, sparks are soon going to fly as the long-suffering wives, sick of being belittled by Monique (and in some cases by their husbands), finally let rip. Then there is the rivalry between the three siblings, so egos will be puffed and punctured.
Billed as an exploration of contemporary Australian class and social politics, the humour and one-liners in Aria are sharp and very funny. It’s a hugely entertaining play, and Mann is quite superb as nasty Monique. She commands the stage and the ‘aria’ she finally delivers is side-splittingly awful.
The ensemble cast is uniformly excellent, though I particularly enjoyed the exchanges between Monique and Chrissy – McDonald is wonderfully believable as the unsung pollie’s wife; her martyred motherhood outburst is spectacular. Bailey’s Midge (the character is a dig at a photo/social media dependent generation) takes a little while to get into her role (it was opening night), but when she does, she too is a fine match for Monique. King’s Judy, apart from all her other perceived faults (mainly she wasn’t born rich), is clearly an unsuitable wife and mother because she wants remove her increasingly snobby daughter from her $40K+ posh private school and send her to a state school.
Director Watson (Alone It Stands) moves things along at a cracking pace (95 minutes, no interval), and it is impossible not to laugh at these seven really rather unlikeable characters. ‘The human ego is very fragile, we couldn’t get by without some delusions,’ says one of them – and that perhaps is the main point of Aria. It’s Williamson (didn’t he retire once?) at his best.
Aria runs until 15 March
Tickets: $25-$104
www.ensemble.com.au/shows/aria/
