The Memory of Water Everyman, Cork

This Theatre Royal production, directed by Ben Barnes, is a mixture of pathos, comedy, bitterness and conflict as three sisters gather for the funeral of their mother, Violet.

At the heart of the play is the unreliability of memory, with each of the sisters remembering the same events in completely different ways. This creates much friction.

Set in Violet’s bedroom, the crack on the wall is like a metaphor for the brokenness of the deceased woman’s daughters. Outside, away from the claustrophobia of the room, the weather is freezing, meaning the siblings are confined to the house, even when the going gets rough and the sisters take to glugging from a bottle of whiskey.