Generations clash in this classic Australian play

The One Day of the Year explores the universal theme of father-son conflict against a landscape of changing national values.

Alf, a working-class WW2 veteran, clings to the ANZAC Day tradition as an almost sacred rite of mates and booze - and an escape from the disappointments of civilian life and the persistent pain of wartime memories. When his son, Hughie, refuses to attend the annual parade and later reveals that he has helped produce an anti-Anzac feature for his student newspaper with his upper-class girlfriend, Jan, family tensions erupt. 

First staged in 1960, Alan Seymour’s landmark play questioned the existence of an Australian class system and challenged us to re-examine a national identity welded, even in defeat, to our military history. To this day, the play still resonates through our awareness of the post-war ripples that continue to impact individuals, families and society.