Memories Assist Drama Circle Celebrate Birthday

Sligo Drama Circle is planning a celebratory year for 2006. And with good reason. It is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its formation and it is kicking off its celebratory year with a play titled “The Memory of Water”. This production is the first in a series of events that will mark the year, which has cultivated a huge interest in acting since its formation. The Drama Circle’s first production was “Thy Dear Father” by Gerard Healy and ran from November 18 to 20 in 1956 in the then Sligo town hall. Tickets at that time cost three shillings and six pence. In stark contrast to the early days, this year’s production “The Memory of Water” by Shelagh Stephenson is running for six nights at the Hawk’s Well Theatre from June 20 to 25 and tickets cost E12 and E15 with tickets costing E20 for the gala night on Friday night June 23.

The play is a dark comedy but is a witty and moving exploration of how being in a family leaves its marks on us. Three bereaved daughters gather at their mother’s home on the day before her funeral. Her death is the catalyst for what people call a time when normal people do abnormal things 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 its 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 reported at the time: “Shelagh Stephenson’s writing is barbed, lyrical, witty and full of a rare emotional intelligence. Sligo Drama Circle’s production is directed by Ursula Smullen. There is a 50th Anniversary Gala night on Friday 23 June. Tickets on that night are E20 with a wine reception after the show. There will also be an exhibition in the foyer celebrating 50 years of The Sligo Drama Circle, with programmes, posters and memorabilia from shows over the years. Thursday evening’s performance is a charity evening in aid of St Edward’s National School in Sligo. The proceeds of the night will go towards raising E2,000 for computer equipment at the school.

from The Sligo Weekender, June 14th, 2006