|
The Memory of Water
Presented by: Villanova Players
Venue: Morningside Campus of TAFE, Brisbane
Reviewer: Kellie Scott
Date Reviewed: Friday 11th September 2009
They say every story has three sides; yours, mine, and the truth.
The Memory of Water
is a hilariously honest play that dissects the bond and different
recollections of childhood reminiscences of three sisters grieving
the loss of their mother. The personable characters and lifelike
circumstances made it easy to connect with the story but while
Villanova’s production had the comedy down pat, the unwinding of the
story was tedious. With a slow moving plot, the humour wasn’t always
enough to keep the entertainment level high. Act one with lots of
laughs and action was significantly stronger than the second, which
dragged on and lost some of the human touch present in the
beginning.
When their mother passes away, the sisters are challenged by their
grief, and one another, when gathered in her home to organise the
funeral. Their loud and differing personalities clashed as they
recounted childhood memories which varied in major and minor detail.
The men in their lives are nonchalantly pulled into the picture as
the women called on them for someone to lean on or blame. As
underdeveloped characters in comparison to the women, they were
really only tools for the sisters to express themselves. Patrick
Mullins as Mike and Trevor Sammon as Frank did a great job
portraying the doormat spouses, providing a lot of the lighter
humour in the show. Mullins timidity and unease around three
boisterous and quarrelling sisters was a realistic portrayal of
someone encountering the girlfriend’s family for the first time.
Performances from the three leading ladies were equally strong, but
comedy from Jane Binstead and Liz Morris stood out. Binstead as the
pot-smoking, fishnet-stocking wearing, unlucky-in-love young lady
with an ego large enough to cover her self-esteem issues was a
delight. The annoying little sister won over the audience – even her
whining was enchanting. Morris as Mary, a sarcastic
straight-shooter, had all the great lines and played off both the
sisters with perfect timing. The sensible sister, Teresa, played by
Carissa Zygis, had her shining moment when confronting her family
head on after a few too many drinks. Zygis subtly changed her voice
and stance, effortlessly growing from tipsy to wasted, but this
scene went on for too long and became tiresome.
Set design by Leo Bradly reeked of decor that time had passed by,
creating the perfect atmosphere of the mother’s bedroom. It was
neutral ground for the sister’s emotional confrontations, and
contained many memories to spark their reminiscences. The vintage
clothes pulled from their mother’s cupboard were fabulous and it was
great fun watching the actors parade them around set.
The personable story with great characters and good humour was a
nice piece of theatre. However, with the show’s limited action and
slow plot development, it ran for too long at almost two and a half
hours including a 20-minute interval.
The Memory of Water
is showing until the 12th of September. Bookings at
www.villanovaplayers.com.
Kellie Scott reviews for her website
www.brisbanecritiques.com, which was launched in October of
2008. Her reviews can also sometimes be found at
www.absolutetheatre.com.au. Previously her critiques for music
and film have been published in The Catholic Leader and The
Satellite newspapers. She is currently studying Journalism at
university, and hopes to use this to develop her writing skills,
focusing on becoming a professional critic in the future. If you
would like to contact Kellie, please email
kellie@brisbanecritiques.com.
|