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Media Release # 5To: All Media Outlets When Alan Seymour’s play The One Day of the Year was scheduled for its first performance at the Adelaide Arts festival in 1960, it was rejected by the board of governers on the grounds that it might offend the RSL. At the time, the concept of Anzac Day was held as a sacred cow by most Australians, and Seymour had dared to question that. He had, however, exposed some of the negative points of the day, and maybe Australia wasn’t ready for this in 1960. During the play’s first professional run in Sydney in 1961, there was a bomb threat to the theatre before the play opened. There was some controversy afterwards, but much of the argument about “the play attacking Anzac Day” came from those who had not actually seen it. The play’s strength evolves from its presentation of both sides of Anzac Day. A son watching his father come home drunk every 25 April would have reason to loathe it. But a father who hasn’t achieved all that much in life, and is made feel special on the day, would naturally love it and look forward to it every year. Most people who see the play now would not regard it as a play attacking Anzac Day, but rather one where all viewpoints are explored and their own opinions may well change. The One Day of the Year opens at Wyong Memorial Hall on Thursday 26 April 2001 at 8pm. There will also be performances on Saturday 28 April (2pm and 8pm), Sunday 29 April (5pm), Thursday 3 May (8pm), Friday 4 May (8pm), and Saturday 5 May (2pm & 8pm). The Sunday “twilight” performance has never been tried at WDG before, but seems to provide a very convenient time for audiences. Wyong Memorial Hall is in Anzac Avenue, Wyong, opposite the RSL. Tickets cost $15 ($12 concession) for the Friday and Saturday evening performances, and $12 ($10 concession) for all other performances. Bookings can be made on WDG’s number XXXX-XXXX.
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