The Memory of Water

Three sisters meet at the family home to arrange the funeral of their mother, and despite their years of separation, old tensions rise to the surface. The weather hampers the funeral plans, and snowfall, like a blanket of grief, cold and confining, makes them inward-looking, but there is always the hope of spring and the thaw to come. Mary is haunted not only by the loss of the child she bore at the age of fourteen, but also by the ghost of her mother, Violet, who forced her to give up the baby for adoption. Tania White plays Mary sensitively and with conviction, so that her conversations with Vi are believable, meaningful and real, and as her relationship with the faithless Mike begins to unravel, our sympathies remain with Mary. Although Mike is not willing to leave his wife for Mary, we should see more of a spark between Mike and Mary, and was he really cold, or was it a device to get Mary into bed? Vanessa Dawson creates a zesty, strong and determined Violet, and although we sympathise over her struggle with Alzheimer’s, it is evident that Vi has always had things her own way. The eldest sister, Teresa, played with passion and energy by Alison Mash, attempts to keep the funeral arrangements on track and to keep the family together. Having taken care of their elderly mother, she comes across as a flustered mother-hen, bickering and bossing the sisters into some semblance of order, until at last she breaks under the strain, drinking heavily (well-handled by Ms Mash), much to the embarrassment of her husband, Frank. Catherine is a troubled soul, the youngest sister, deeply insecure and desperately seeking attention.  Engagingly played by Jenny Young, Catherine is the catalyst for much of the humour and pathos in the play; with her unreliable, unsuitable lovers, she is always in need of affection, and falls back on drugs and alcohol when she finds none to speak of, but we laugh at her antics and immaturity. Director Linda Cowley must be congratulated on finding such a strong cast.

‘The Memory of Water’ is Stephenson’s first play for the stage, and despite the drawback of there being virtually no stage directions, one advantage is that her experience in writing for radio creates a script which is meant to be heard. There are parts of the play where it would be helpful to explore different levels of light and shade in the voice, but the diction and projection in this production were excellent, and Mary’s line: ‘My mother’s the ghost in the machine. She goes through us like wine through water. Whether we like it or not. Nothing ends entirely’ was particularly striking. 
The set is nicely executed: a rather shabby bedroom with appropriate old-style furniture; a trim phone and synthetic satin quilt, which all fit very well with the scene in which the daughters try on their mother’s dated clothes. Although the timing for lighting was slightly off on the first night, the snapshot of the daughters and their mother which closes Act One was well done.

‘The Memory of Water’ is a challenging piece, often described as black comedy, and although it is certainly humorous, at its core it is an observation of human nature:  all credit to SNADS for finding the balance between these two elements, with a clear understanding of situation and character.

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