If you have seen any of my recent reviews you will see that I have been to several shows recently that I have no idea about the story  and this one is no different. I love new-to-me plays because they peak my interest, they keep me in the unknown and they allow the story to develop with no preconceptions and I absolutely loved this newbie.

I am not going to give you much detail about the plot as there are some spoilers in it and I want you to be able to have the same joy of watching the story unfold as I had however the overall premise of the show takes place entirely in the bedroom of Vi, recently deceased mother of Teresa, Mary and Catherine, three sisters played wonderfully and believably by Laura Brookes, Kat Seddon and Nikki Favell respectively, whose lives have gone in their own, distant directions from each other and are coming back to their seaside childhood home to attend their mother’s funeral the following day.

Now – in a nutshell that sounds like it is going to be pretty depressing however Shelagh Stephenson’s writing is fun to watch and it keeps you enthralled to find out where their journey will head next. There are some hilarious moments – especially teetotaller Teresa’s tipsy outburst  – but these are also tinged with abject sorrow such as Catherine’s emotional plea for help in the height of her loneliness. It leaves you feeling slightly guilty at laughing at their rantings and yet you can’t help but feel reconciled to the characters somehow…..many of us watching will, at some stage or other, have gone through a similar scenario where alcohol has too much sway over behaviours.

The story develops around the trio’s interactions with each other and, if you have siblings, it is easy to recognise many of these interactions as reality. At times two of the sisters stand up against the third with the battlelines changing constantly and with fluidity throughout the performance. Add in the ‘love’ element of Mike (Jordan Hanford) and Frank (Joff Brown) and the cast is almost complete and the dynamic comedy/tragedy is absolutely spot on. Both gentleman play their roles well and bring a balance to the sometimes very dramatic and sometimes emotionally unstable outbursts of the sisters. The final piece of the puzzle is Vi (gracefully played by Karen Gordon) who comes back in the mind of Mary – the daughter who was always distant to her however we find out why during the show and my sympathy was definitely at Mary’s feet by the end of the show although I could relate to all three sisters in their own way. The entire cast work really well together and all the character’s personalities gel with no-one leaving the audience feeling like there is a piece missing somewhere.

Foe me (even as a musicals lover where people suddenly start singing and dancing at the drop of a hat) there always needs to be an element of believability and this show has just that in bucketloads. The humour is comparable with the dark humour of some of my funeral director friends (some of their jokes are really dark!) and this made it even more believable given how people don’t really know how to ‘behave’ around the subject of death and Leigh White’s direction knits it all together beautifully within the busy but OAP-style set designed by Stef Nichols.

All in all it is an interestingly contradictory watch. From the comedy moments to the tragic reality of accepting death to the easy viewing yet difficult to see quality of the production. This was a gem from Leicester Drama Society that I am so glad I came to see and I would recommend anyone who is looking for an evening of quality watching to book a ticket. It runs at The Little Theatre until Saturday 28th February and tickets can be booked here: The Memory of Water

Tickets gifted for an honest review.