Chrissy (Mairead McKinley) is passed out on the couch. Her house around her is dishevelled, empty beer cans and wine bottles litter the floor. The walls are showing damp and mould, and everything looks to be in need of a good clean. Her sister, Claire (Kathy Kiera Clarke) arrives having agreed to bring four final drinks before Chrissy has agreed to go to an alcohol treatment facility.
The Dry House is staged in a small letter box, the surround of the stage blacked out, leaving us focused on the unkempt home and the women before us. The relationship between the two sisters feels very real, we see and feel the long history between them, picking up on snippets of family background and times shared together. Chrissy always liked a drink but after the death of her daughter Heather (Carla Langley) in a car crash, she sought solace at the bottom of a bottle.
Eugene O’Hare’s script is fairly bleak, but frequent dark humour helps keep the audience from dipping over into despair. Mairead McKinley is given a fairly one note piece, all she has is alcoholism driven by grief and does well with this. The physical effects of the booze or lack of are well displayed. Kathy Kiera Clarke delivers the dry, harsher serious moments with relish and we understand why Claire would still be prepared to help Chrissy and at such cost to herself, emotionally and financially.
The lighting by Robbie Butler appears fairly functional, until Heather appears and the lighting changes the focus and helps open it up for the audience to make their own mind up. Is it flashback or vision or possibly even supernatural? The repeated scenes of the last time Chrissy saw and spoke with Heather is very effective, showing how Chrissy relives that awful moment over and over in her head even years later. It allows the audience to understand her reasons for drinking a little more each time.
There is some odd breaking of the fourth wall, first with Claire turning to address the audience with a confession and a twist. Then later, and more effectively Heather steps forward and off the stage to tell her story and how she ended up in a car crash. While the fourth wall break and direction here is very effective, Heather’s story moves us away from the story of the two sisters and her revelations don’t add anything to the main story. It feels superfluous, perhaps something a little more here had been cut from an earlier draft? The Dry House gives us revelations and turns for its characters, but it doesn’t always follow them up. After Claire’s confession, the staging surely suggests the water bottle was intended to be vodka, notably placed to a side and with an occasional glance over towards it – or perhaps just one for the audience to pick up on?
It is good work from the cast to let us into the lives of these women and to really understand the relationship between the two sisters and the ruinous effect of alcoholism, especially when combined with grief. Life is complex and sometimes trauma is coped with in whatever way one can find even when that brings issues too.
This was my first visit to the Marylebone Theatre. The venue and the welcoming staff were a slam-dunk five stars. From front of the house to the bar staff, everyone was just lovely and made me feel very welcome. The auditorium was comfortable and with good legroom and I am already already looking forward to future visits.
Running until 6th May, https://www.marylebonetheatre.com/productions/the-dry-house
Reviewer: Dave Smith
Reviewed: 7th April 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★★