The Memory of Water
by Shelagh Stevenson

October 5-27, 2001
Directed by Nick Backes

Memory...

It can play tricks on us. Memory and those tricks are given a shrewd workout in Shelagh Stevenson's bittersweet comedy The Memory of Water.

The story is built around the death of Vi, the mother of three adult sisters who return to their childhood home for the funeral and the attendant sorting out of a lifetime, which includes not only Mom's garish old clothes, but also their connections to their parents, each other, and the men in their lives.

Mary, the middle daughter, is a neurologist doing research in memory and in the fifth year of an affair with a married man.

Teresa, the oldest daughter, took care of their mother when she developed Alzheimer's disease. She and her husband run a health food business.

Catherine, the baby of the family, is addicted to shopping and men who never stay, and she dabbles in drugs and analysis.

The playwright chooses to include the mother as a character onstage and weaves her in and out of the action. The first act ends with the three sisters half-dressed in gaudy remnants of their mother's wardrobe, tipsy and hysterically clowning for the camera and their men.

By play's end, the audience has gotten to know each character and their idiosyncrasies intimately, as the sisters come to terms with each other and their shared past. One sister observes, "Our mother runs through us whether we like it or not."

"The Memory of Water" garnered the 2000 Olivier Award for Best Comedy for its London production. In the United States, the renowned Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago and Manhattan Theater Club have both brought it to the stage. Carpenter Square Theatre is proud to present the play's first production in Oklahoma.