The Old Fitz Theatre closes the year with a production that features a cast of five firing on all cylinders in a modern-day kitchen sink drama set not too long ago in Sydney’s western suburbs.
Playwright Jack Kearney’s Born on a Thursday features all of the hallmarks of the late fifties and early sixties social realism English dramas such as A Taste of Honey that defined the era and gave a voice to the working class.
Born on a Thursday opens with the solitary figure of Howard (James Lugton) literally at the kitchen sink while the audience settle.
Into the household setting we next see April (Sofia Nolan), who has returned from years away dancing in Denmark.
When her mother Ingrid (Sharon Millerchip) arrives the air is pregnant with tension between the two: not the expected reception.
Slowly we are introduced to the two other characters, April’s brain damaged brother Isaac (Owen Hasluck) and the garrulous drop-in Estelle (Deborah Galanos), and we learn that Howard is a good Samaritan neighbour besotted by single mother Ingrid.
Over the next two hours and forty minutes (including interval) not much action happens, but a slow burn of quiet intensity ensues as the minutiae of the mundane is slowly revealed.
The performances are exceptional, with Millerchip setting a high bar that the others rise to. Lugton plays Howard with the right mix of obsession with Ingrid while maintaining a level of quiet intelligence.
As April, Nolan does well with the material she has to work with, interacting well with the others and especially with Howard, whom she questions him about his relationship with her family while slowly revealing her own situation.
As the football tragic and brain damaged victim Hasluck is magnificent in his maintenance of character with great depth and empathy.
If there is a comedic foil it is the wine slugging neighbour Estelle, who flits in and out of the setting with the impression that she has a busy life and her neighbours are only one part of it.
If there is a problem in Born on a Thursday it lies with the overlong script which at times seems aimless and repetitive, while it should be commended for its language of the times.
It is surprising that dramaturg Mary Rachel Brown did not see this as a problem and wield the red pencil more, especially in the many questions posed by the characters to each other.
Director Lucy Clements has done well in keeping movement flowing across the set and handles the difficult entrances and exits of the Old Fitz well, while perhaps more attention to the pacing of the scenes could have introduced a more nuanced production overall.
Once more the Old Fitz and their design (Soham Apte) and construction crew have amazed with the ingenious layered set consisting of a working kitchen (for endless cups of tea), kitchen table with settings and a gap in the wall that allows us to peer onto the deck and its garden which grows across the duration of the play.
Lighting from Veronique Benett and sound by Sam Cheng are both top notch and add to the classy look and feel of this production. For all of its problems script wise, Born on a Thursday is a great look at a slice of life from an era not too long ago.
Born on a Thursday
The Old Fitz Theatre, 129 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo
Performance: Tuesday 2 December 2025
Season continues to 14 December 2025
Information and Bookings: www.oldfitztheatre.com.au
Images: Born on a Thursday – photos by Phil Erbacher
Review: John Moyle