The Memory of Water

Got a spare evening? Use it wisely: go see The Memory of Water.

Taking a seat to watch The Memory of Water, it was hard to know exactly what to expect. Looking at the programme beforehand, noticing the small cast of just six actors, it seems they’ve all got a massive responsibility to make this into a story.

Natural Chemistry

But prepare to be entertained. Despite a nervous start, the characters all soon found their ground, sharing a highly comic yet slightly depressing story.

A story of three sisters brought together by the death of their mother, the whole play reflects the stage of grief where you become ridiculously hysterical. They drink, they laugh, they smoke weed – all in an aim to deal with the loss. In this state of frenzy and nothingness, past family secrets become uncovered, raising the question of how well you ever really know your family.

Natural chemistry is found between the three sisters, Mary, Teresa and Catherine, with evidence of all the tensions, trials and love that is found with siblings, making every fight and every conversation believable.

The relationship between Teresa and her husband Frank is also one of brilliance, played by Lucy Dollman and Ben Williamson, they are every inch the middle-aged married couple – delivering their brilliant bickering scenes effortlessly whilst still showing underlying affection.

Dollman steals the show playing the straight-laced, highly strung Teresa, especially during the scenes where she gets pissed and tells everyone what for, portraying drunkenness with absolute ease and hilarity.

The to-ing and fro-ing of the bickering scenes, movement in and out of the room, and most importantly the drinking, ensures the play is moving at a fast enough pace to keep the audience entertained despite all being staged in just the one room.

The Tab strongly recommends that if you have a free evening, rather than watching crap on TV you head on down to the Trent Building and enjoy a few hours of wonderfully worked comedy.

Shows continue Sunday to Tuesday this week at 7.30pm in the Performing Arts Studio, Trent Building. Just £5 for students.

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