520 Etc.: The Memory of Water
The current production at the Oak Ridge Playhouse features work by a playwright who has enjoyed wide acclaim in Britain, and is now finding an American audience.
Once an actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shelagh Stephenson realized that her true talent lay in writing. She began her charmed career as an author of many successful radio plays for the BBC including DARLING PEIDI, THE ANATOMICAL VENUS and FIVE KINDS OF SILENCE, which won the Writer's Guild Award (Best Radio Play) in 1997.
THE MEMORY OF WATER (1997), which is now playing at Oak Ridge, was Stephenson's first foray into stage writing. It opened at the Hampstead Theatre to rave reviews. The dark comedy is centered around three sisters with little in common who have returned home for the funeral of their mother. Audiences praised her ability to honestly represent the often dysfunctional relationships of mothers and daughters and sisters.
To Stephenson's surprise, many women personally identify with the characters she wrote for THE MEMORY OF WATER. Initially this was a shocking revelation, since she had intentionally written broad stereotypes into the script. In a 2004 interview with Robin Usher, Senior Writer for The Age, Stephenson reacts to this response with,
"Christ, what's wrong with them?" she says. "It seems incredibly weird because I wrote the play as a piece of hyper reality." (Similar to Sting's response when people tell him they had Every Breath You Take--a song written about a stalker--played at their wedding.)
Perhaps the reason why audiences have continued to explore and embrace her work is that she has the ability to infuse depressing subject matter with sardonic humor. Stephenson claims it's her "tragic flaw" that everything she writes comes out funny. In the case of THE MEMORY OF WATER, the bitter pill of losing a parent is much easier to swallow when taken with a big swig of laughter.
The show is running now through Aug. 27 at the Oak Ridge Playhouse. Visit their website for more information.
The Cast of The Memory of Water
Mary: Gayle Greene
Vi: Karen Brunner
Teresa: Amy Dale
Catherine: Virginia Fillers
Mike: Steve Belding
Frank: James Richardson
Production Staff for The Memory of Water
Director: Steven McBride
Scenic Design: Herb Snouffer
Costume Design: De Wayne Kirchner
Wig and Hair Design: Sandra Herrera
Production Stage Manager: Terry Lynn Copeland