David Williamson sets family skeletons a-rattling in his latest for Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre, a tightly-composed comedy set in the stylish home of Monique, a wealthy widow hoisting the annual – seemingly compulsory – gathering of her three sons and their spouses. 

Tracy Mann in Ensemble Theatre’s Aria. Photo © Prudence Upton

In quite a coincidence, all three of Monique’s sons share the same birthday. Her eldest(s), Liam and Daniel are twins, though of the chalk and cheese variety. Liam (older by 10 minutes) is a rising Liberal politician, pondering a tilt at the leadership. Daniel is an architectural draftsman, content to live in the shadow of his high-profile lawyer wife. The youngest is Charlie, 39, an advertising exec, and still the apple of his mother’s eye.

But the real focus of the event, however, is Monique (Tracy Mann), who seldom misses a chance to remind everyone of her maternal sacrifice (she could have been a great opera singer), or to sow discord in her sons’ marriages, for which she holds little regard.

In Monique’s estimation, Liam’s wife Chrissy is failing as a...