Three sisters return to their childhood home on the death of their mother. She is not greatly loved by any of them and by the sound of things she was a difficult woman. Two of the daughters have escaped to live in new surroundings, while the third remained in the locality and looked after their mother until the end. Over the course of several days leading up to the funeral, old wounds are reopened and skeletons exposed as the three siblings go over the images of their past, and memories that may have been better forgotten.

This is a play by Shelagh Stephenson, which was converted to the movie ‘Before you go‘ staring Julie Walters in 2002. The opening scenes introduce the three sisters and remain light hearted as the barriers between them are broken through drink and various other substances. The final acts have more depth though, as certain truths are exposed about the characters. The play could be accused of trying to do too much, with each of the sisters and their partners going through various trials and tribulations.

The performance of the three main sisters is impressive although a number of the minor characters are less successful. Jenni Ledwell leads the show as Mary, a doctor who is having an affair with a married man and her performance is impressive. This is an enjoyable light hearted comedy and while it is not too demanding of its audience it does cover a lot of ground and there are a number of laughs along the way.

Theatre Royal Production of Memory of Water runs at the Civic Theatre until Oct 26th. Tickets €20/ 16