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Review: ‘Water’ flows on strong acting

“THE Memory of Water” depicts three adult, north-English sisters who are brought together by the dementia and subsequent death of their mother, Vi.

The sisters all have vastly different and sometimes conflicting memories of their up-bringing. Though their life choices are diverse, they all show the strong influence of their mother. Like her, they all have troubled relations with men.

Vi (Sally Rynveld) appears on stage as an imagined character, interacting mainly with her middle daughter, Mary. Mary is in her late 30s; a doctor and the family success story. She’s also childless and in a long-term relationship with a married man.

Through her dementia, Vi was cared for by her pious, health-food espousing elder daughter, Theresa (Andrea Close). The flighty and emotional younger daughter, Catherine (Eliza Bell) was a late addition to the family when Vi was expecting menopause rather than pregnancy.

There are frequent comic moments and audible laughs from the audience, but the play lacks the tight plot twists and farcical elements of a true comedy.

The cast features some of Canberra’s most outstanding actors and all performances are strong and well drawn. Wightman’s direction is naturalistic and spare. Thematic resonances are layered through the narrative and, what could have been a dark comedy, becomes a poignant and bittersweet domestic drama.

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Ian Meikle, editor

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