The Memory of Water

The Memory of Water is a cleverly written drama, giving the actors the rare opportunity and challenge to delve below the surface, to convey to the audience not only what is tangible through the dialogue that one would expect at a family gathering for the funeral of their mother, but also what is usually left unsaid: the innermost emotions that we carry with us throughout our lives.

The family had more than their fair share of those emotions, which were skillfully played out by the three sisters. Each of them carried with them their own personal turmoil and each actor developed their characters in a convincing way. Ginny Elliston’s Teresa successfully conveyed the put-upon sister, who was left to deal with everything that her two siblings could not help with, masking her own problems to cope with those, past and present, of her sisters. Mary, very competently played by Jane Thompson, was supposedly the sibling who was the highest achiever, but who had never really succeeded in any personal relationships and whose backstory became clear in cleverly delivered segments. Catherine, the youngest and most outwardly troubled sister was brought to life by Becks Vincent, whose dramatic energy was truly a tour de force.

The play suffered slightly at the beginning with the pace, but the actors soon overcame this and managed to get themselves out of difficulties when they needed to in a professional way, never breaking character. The pace picked up and they gave extremely good performances in this dialogue-heavy play. A lot of information had to be given to the audience, but it was delivered in such a way that the audience never lost interest and were kept on the edge of their seats wondering what was coming next.

This was because the play had another dimension which was encapsulated by the character of Vi, the deceased mother, formidably brought to life by Jaki Newman in a laudable performance. The audience was taunted by the uncertainty of what to expect: was this a ghost story, or even a horror story, or, as it transpired, a psychological battle with the inner demons of the protagonists? This uncertainty was used to great dramatic effect with the mysterious appearances of the mother, growing in intensity as her coffin was delivered with the dilemma of the family as to whether or not it should be opened. The audience shuddered as the window was rattled from the outside. Who was entering and how scary would it be? But this was not a play about cheap shocks. It was far more subtle and moving, expertly directed by Jenna Young, who must be congratulated on such a polished directorial debut.

The person at the window turned out to be Mike, excellently played by Jim Thompson, with his subtly selfish persona, feeling understandably awkward in the midst of everything that was happening in front of him. Adam Thompson gave an equally strong performance as Frank, both partners trying to be helpful but feeling out of their depth with the dramatic behaviour of the three sisters.

The set was top-notch, as were the costumes. A shout out to Dot Sharp and Linda Waites for not only having to clothe the actors in convincing costumes for the period, but having to provide a whole wardrobe of clothes that had belonged to Vi, to be sorted. Karen Melton and Janet Ratcliff did well in dressing a convincing set, with the exception of the filofax which would have been smaller, so maybe should have been called a folder/file if the genuine article was not readily available. The family photos on the little table outside was a brilliant idea, although had someone I was with not pointed them out, they could have been easily missed.

The accents were good and sustained throughout, although it is unclear why the choice was made that Mary had no trace of her northern roots. She did leave home to “better” herself, but still spent her formative years in the north, and even if she had deliberately lost her accent, one might have expected it to return when she was back home with her family and as she re-lived her years with her mother.

The one area that always presents difficulty is what to do when a scene change is needed. The blackout while the set was re-dressed for the day of the funeral inevitably felt that bit too long, and although there was some incidental music playing, still meant that some of the great energy of the performance was lost. It is a challenge that is hard to overcome, but perhaps worth thinking about for the future. Maybe Vi could have been present, spotlit in a corner to pull focus away from those changing the set, watching as the male actors brought in the coffin. Or the sisters could have been seen to be clearing away the bags/clothes etc themselves while a childhood song was playing to make it part of the action.

However, this is a company that is talented, bold, open to innovative ideas, whose reputation means that they managed to attract a large audience who were rewarded with a production of great quality.  Well done to all involved and keep up the good work!

 

 

 

 

 

          

 

 

 

 

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