Sligo Drama Circle Celebrates 50 Years

The Sligo Drama Circle celebrates 50 years of drama productions by presenting “The Memory of Water” by Shelagh Stephenson at The Hawk’s Well Theatre, Sligo from 20th to 25th June at 8pm. The Friday 23rd June performance is the 50th Anniversary Gala Night. Tickets on that night are €20 with a wine reception after the show. Ticket prices for the shows on the other nights are €12 and €15. This production marks the start of 50th Anniversary Celebrations of Sligo Drama Circle. The Drama Circle’s first production was “Thy Dear Father” by Gerard Healy and ran from 18th – 20th November 1956 in Sligo Town Hall. Tickets cost all of three shillings and six pence!

This dark comedy is a witty and moving exploration of how being in a family leaves its mark on us. Three bereaved daughters gather at their mother’s home on the day before her funeral. Her death is the catalyst for “what normal people do in abnormal times,” and their outpouring of grief, bickering, contradictory memories of childhood, and resentment are part of their journey towards acceptance and forgiveness. As the bleakness of the winter outside begins to make it’s presence felt on the three sisters at the centre of this piece, we begin to understand that, like nearly all familial relationships, these women have little in common besides a shared blood line. On top of that they have secrets they have never shared with each other. What is interesting about this piece is that it explores the question of shared memory from a highly personal perspective. Each sister, at various times for example, shares a number of memories from their common childhood, some happy and some not so happy, but each quickly discovers that the others do not share the memory at all, or else remember events in a totally different light.

The Memory of Water was first presented in London in 1998, where it received unqualified rave reviews and moved from its off-West End theatre to the West End for an extended run. The London Sunday Times said, “Shelagh Stephenson’s writing is barbed, lyrical, witty & full of a rare emotional intelligence”, and the Independent called it, “Wickedly funny and moving.”

There will also be an exhibition in the foyer celebrating 50 years of The Drama Circle, with programmes, posters and memorabilia from shows over the years. Thursday evening’s performance is a charity evening hoping to raise €2000 towards Computer Equipment for St Edward’s National School. Tickets usual prices.

from The Scene, June, 2006