....The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson
This Olivier award winning comedy is laced with a hint of melancholy along with the hauntings of nostalgia.
Their mother Vi has just died, so three sisters Teresa, Mary and Catherine along with their significant others, arrive at the family home to arrange Vi’s funeral in The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson. At family occasions like this you would expect much reminiscing and bickering … and this comedy certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Teresa is the neurotic owner of a sinking business dealing in alternative therapies. She also struggles with resentment that she’s been left to care for their dying mother. Mary now a doctor, is in a long-term affair with a married man. Along with her more pragmatic outlook on life, she carries a further sad and shameful secret from her past.
The youngest sister is the seemingly feckless and wayward Catherine, who lives abroad and thinks the whole world revolves around her. She craves to be noticed all the time much to the annoyance of her sisters.
The three sisters now live far apart from each other reflecting lives which have taken different paths over the years. Coming together at long last for this family event would surely be a time to unite over shared stories? After all, the three of them were all brought up the same. Weren’t they? As their stories unfold, the family strains and their individual demons emerge alongside their alternative versions of the same past, converging to unveil their different perspectives. Tensions arise as they argue over conflicting revelations of the truth but at the end of the day, they are and remain, family.
In playwright Shelagh Stephenson’s exploration of remembering and the dynamics of family life, we find that memory – depending on the beholder - can be fluid. As each sister is affected in the present by their own view of family history, so is the way that they are each affected by grief.
Watched over by the ghost of their newly deceased Mother, whose own mind was clinically degenerating by the onset of dementia, this isn’t just a story about phantoms from the past. There is much knock-about laughter as we recognise the dark humour among family life … and death
30th June - 9th July 2017
Drama Centre Black Box
Tickets available now at SISTIC
Olivier Award Winner - Best New Comedy
Stephenson’s play is a comedy/drama filled with sharp dialogue and smart wit. The story is of three sisters who have travelled far apart on their own individual life journeys. They have just been called together in their childhood home on the eve of their mother’s funeral.
As their stories unfold, images of their mother’s influence on their lives takes shape. The family strains and their individual secrets emerge alongside their hysterical alternative versions of the same childhood past. Hilarity and tears ensue. Still, they are sisters, and despite the inaccuracies of the reminiscences and the accuracies of the recriminations, one truth remains – they are family.
Wag the Dog Theatre is the first of its kind in Singapore. A co-op collective of professional actors and directors who finance, produce and perform only the best international playwriting. The diverse ensemble, who have lived, trained and worked all over the world, combine their talents to create a truly dynamic team. Wag the Dog are the ones to watch!
