The Memory of Water & Five Kinds of Silence by Shelagh Stephenson (5-Apr-2001) Paperback

by Shelagh Stephenson

In The Memory of Water (winner of the 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy), three sisters meet on the eve of their mother's funeral. As the conflicts of the past converge, everyday lies and tensions reveal the particular patterns and strains of family relationships. '"Combines a flair for witty dialogue with a relish for the dynamics of theatre … a mistress of comic anguish" Guardian

Five Kinds of Silence (winner of the 1996 Writers' Guild Award for Best Original Radio Play and the 1997 Sony Award for Best Original Drama) is the story of a family in which control has become the driving force, where everything has its place, and where there are only rules, duties and punishments. "An acute and funny writer, Stephenson carves out a welcome territory that is distinctive, contemporary and theatrical" Independent

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama

Paperback

First published July 3, 1997

About the author

Shelagh Stephenson was born in Northumberland and read drama at Manchester University. She has written several original plays for BBC Radio. These include Darling Peidi, about the Thompson and Bywater murder case, which was broadcast in the Monday Play series in 1993; a Saturday Night Theatre, The Anatomical Venus, broadcast in the following year; and Five Kinds of Silence (1996), which won the Writer's Guild Award for Best Original Drama. Her first stage play, The Memory of Water, opened at the Hampstead Theatre, London, in July 1996, and her second, An Experiment With An Air Pump, joint winner of the 1997 Peggy Ramsay Award, opened at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, in February 1998. Also Life is a Dream, and Through a Glass Darkly in 2004.

Reviews

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review will be on just "five kinds of silence". As a drama student, I have to read many scripts for GCSE work and extra drama work. This has got to be the most emotional and disturbing play that i have read. We are introduced to the characters of Billy,Susan,Judith and Mary who tell a story of a life of abuse from Billy. The play starts with him dead as Susan and Judith have shot him. As a three Mary, Susan and Judith go on to talk of the emotional , physical and sexual abuse that Billy acted with. The scene where Susan talks about the nightmares she is having of her farther sexually abusing her made me cry and feel so empty. The language used throughout the piece is disturbing and yet so powerful and beautifully written. This will forever be the most powerful play i have read.

[Matteo · Rating 4 out of 5]

TMOW - really interesting but i found it hard to concentrate as i wasnt studying it. wasnt motivated.
to read it at all. was too focused on FKOS

FKOS - this is the other play im studying for my A-level drama course and oh my god i lvoed it. i was realy fascinated by the storyline and how tge girls coped with their father even though they were literal adults in their thirties. billy was os controlling and he got what he deserved. i am horrified at how he treated his girls but oh my god. his monologues were so powerful and intricet and so were the women's monologues i was hooked throughout the whole play.

[Anna B · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great play… I just wish it was still on. Afterwards, had great discussions about ageism and inter-generational jealousy

[Yazmin Taliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Alex Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two brillant plays, great little read!

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a sister never comfortable with her role in the triad, I appreciated this The Memory of Water. As a daughter who watched her mother break apart and drift away on an ocean of dementia, I appreciated it even more. Stephenson does a lot with a little. Forgiveness and forgetting run throughout the witty banter. I would love to see this staged.

Five Kinds of Silence, however, felt heavy handed. But then it's about a controlling abusive father who was controlled and abused himself. Unlike Vi, the mother in The Memory of Water -- Billy, the dead abusive father never has the grace to leave. I do not like the ending, but maybe I don't understand it. The cycle of abuse never ending? The dysfunctional family gone to heaven together? The sisters moving forward, buying a maisonette together? Oh, come on. Couldn't they have done without the shelving?

[Manicpaperclip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently took part in a local production of this play, and loved every minute of it.

My heart aches for all three sisters. None of them are 'good' they are just human.

Whilst Catherine's character was given a hard time by every person who watched the play. I personally felt very sorry for her. Whilst a relentless flirt the way that I perceived her was ultimately that commitment was her true goal as she wanted to be excepted.

It's cleverly written taking place in only one room, but it's jam packed with every emotion taking the audience on tumultuous journey.

I love the end of the play, and think it takes a particular strength for Mary to leave Mike.

If I got the opportunity to see this show I would go in an instant.