The Memory of Water

by Shelagh Stephenson, Jenny Stevens (Editor), Steve Lewis (Editor), Chris Megson (Editor), Matthew Nichols (Editor)

Overview

A Memory of Water was Stephenson's first play, opening in London in 1996, and was awarded the prestigious 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.

This Student Edition features the full text of the play and an introduction that includes a plot summary and a discussion of the themes, characters, structure, language, style and production history of the play. Notes on words and phrases in the text, questions for further study and a bibliography provide students with everything they need to study and appreicate this award-winning play.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780413776143
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/30/2008
Series:	Student Editions
Edition description:	Student
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Shelagh Stephenson was born in Northumberland and read drama at Manchester University. Her first stage play, The Memory of Water, premiered at Hampstead Theatre in 1996 and subsequently transferred to the West End, where it won an Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 2000. Her second play, An Experiment With An Air Pump, opened at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. It was joint recipient of the Peggy Ramsay Award and later transferred to the Hampstead Theatre. Both plays subsequently ran at New York's Manhattan Theatre Club. Her third play, Ancient Lights, was produced at Hampstead Theatre in December 2000. She has written several radio plays, including the award-winning Five Kinds of Silence, which she adapted for the stage and which was presented at the Lyric, Hammersmith in 2000. Her screen adaptation of The Memory of Water was released in spring 2002 with the title Before You Go.

Jenny Stevens was an Associate Lecturer for the Open University and currently combines educational consultancy work with teaching and writing. She is the co-author with Pamela Bickley of Essential Shakespeare: The Arden Guide to Text and Interpretation (2013) and Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama: Text and Performance (2016).

Chris Megson is Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London. He has taught and published widely in the field of modern drama, and is editor of The Methuen Drama Book of Naturalist Plays. Other works include: Get Real: Documentary Theatre Past and Present (with Alison Forsyth, 2011), and Modern British Playwriting: The 70s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations (2012).

Matthew Nichols graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2003 and has been teaching and leading outstanding Drama and Performing Arts departments for over a decade. Matthew also has extensive experience at a senior level with several exam boards, and was responsible for writing one of the reformed GCSE qualifications in Drama. In addition, Matthew works with schools, colleges, universities and theatres across the country. Matthew is a successful and sought after Drama education consultant, and was one of the founders of Drama Defined, which specialises in delivering high quality Drama education courses to staff and students. Matthew is currently Head of Drama at Manchester Grammar School. You can reach him on Twitter @matthew_drama.

Editorial Reviews

In Shelagh Stephenson's play, three estranged sisters with a long history of failing to get on convene to make arrangements for their mother's cremation.” —Alfred Hickling, Guardian, 1.8.09

“The drama has a fierce, instantly recognisable humanity that is difficult to resist.” —Joyce McMillan, Scotsman, 17.07.10

From the Publisher

THE MEMORY OF WATER...is dotted with stimulating observations...it has a raw spontaneity that captures perfectly the idea of what normal people do in abnormal times...

NY Times

THE MEMORY OF WATER really lives up to the poetry reflected in its title. It also keeps us highly entertained for two hours and leaves us deeply touched in the end.

NY Daily News

This touching and hugely entertaining comedy provides an insight into the lives of three sisters who are reunited for their mother's funeral. A neurotic maternal type, a paranoid doctor and a brattish youngest sibling recall their childhood, but find that personal grievances have coloured their memories, which differ greatly and cause immense friction

The Independent

This is a lovely piece, full of humour and heart...Where the play works best is...in its satisfying mixture of sardonic humour and deep emotion. Excellent jokes give way to festering resentments, booze and dope-fuelled hilarity to sudden glimpses of buried secrets and aching pain.

The Telegraph

Shelagh Stephenson [is] a dramatist with a sharp eye and a gift for quirky dialogue to match.

London Times