The Memory of Water, Electric Theatre Guildford

The Memory of Water won an Olivier Award for best comedy in 2000, and the sharp script certainly brought frequent bursts of laugher from the audience at The Electric Theatre last week. On a deeper level, there are some serious themes running through the plot, and the mix of light and shade results in an intriguing play with some lovely characters.

This was Shelagh Stephenson's first play, written in 1996, and it’s a good choice for smaller theatre groups with its cast of six interesting characters. Directed by Laura Sheppard, this version by the Guildburys was up to their usual high standard with convincing characters and good pace. Three sisters gather together at their dead mother’s home to prepare for her funeral. In the first scene we get a glimpse of the deceased mother, touchingly played by Gilly Fick, and her influence on her daughters becomes apparent as they each reveal their memories of her throughout the play.

Kathryn Attwood captured the personality of the oldest sister Teresa well, striving to do the right thing for her beloved mother but clearly anxious and close to the edge. Polly King played the more laid-back but confident middle sister Mary with exactly the right tone, struggling with memories of her mother but appearing in control. Debby Phillips threw herself into the role of the youngest, rebellious sister who resorts to smoking the odd joint to calm her nerves and is desperate to fall in love. The inter-action between these three very different personalities worked well and they were truly believable as sisters.

I laughed out loud when Mary’s married man climbed in through the window. Mike’s desire to be with Mary is met with confusing, mixed emotions, and she has more than one card to play in her quest for him to leave his wife. Phill Griffith was perfect as Mike; he has a wonderful voice on stage and his performance in this play was, as always, convincing and very natural. The relationship between Mike and Mary was well crafted, tense but running high with emotion.

Also very believable was Steve Nankervis as Frank, keen to keep his beloved Teresa calm and creating great comedy, particularly when he is rolled on the bed by an amorous and emotional Catherine.

Occasionally, some of the ladies' dialogue was hard to hear, but this is a very wordy script and in order to keep the pace up, any cast has to race through some of the lines. Added to this, they were battling against some unusual background noise, either the air conditioning unit or maybe the projector, but it is no mean feat to perform so many lines and the whole cast did a tremendous job, never missing a cue or faltering in their delivery.

The Guildburys are always inventive in their productions and in this instance, the projection of shimmering water and black and white photos added a professional touch. The cast looked as if they enjoyed every moment on stage and everyone, on and off stage, had clearly had worked hard as a team, the result of which was a very fine production and an appreciative audience. 

Tinx Newton