Sisyphean Quick Fix, Riverside Studios Review
Photo by Marusia Makhmutova
Written by Becky for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Praised as Theatre Weekly’s Best of the Fest ‘24 at last year’s Fringe, Bettina Paris’ Sisyphean Quick Fix makes its way to London’s Riverside Studios. Raising awareness of the detrimental family impacts of alcoholism, the two-person play is a thought-provoking and often light-hearted watch, however sometimes lacked in depth when exploring the overarching issues in the story.
Based on Paris’ personal story, sisters Krista (played by Paris) and Pip (Tina Rizzo) are inseparable, despite their long distance from each other. When Pip flies Krista back to Malta to reunite the two sisters for her birthday, the concerns regarding their father’s drinking habits intensify, leaving the two to make difficult choices that threaten their relationship.
Set in a black-box theatre at Riverside Studios, the set design (Matthew Cassar) was simple yet effective. The backdrop was built with cardboard boxes, filled with home elements for both Krista and Pip’s personal spaces, as well as empty alcohol bottles as a reminder of the difficulties at hand. I particularly enjoyed how the actors moved the boxes around to guide the audience through different sceneries, in true Fringe fashion.
The majority of the scripting were conversations happening between the two sisters, either through phone, FaceTime or face-to-face. Paris does really well to create intimacy in her writing, inviting the audience into the special relationship between Krista and Pip. The sisterly banter was engaging and relatable, with a nice balance between Pip’s straight-talking sarcasm and Krista’s more enthusiastic and hyper self. Even in the darker moments, they didn’t shy away from teasing each other which added a light touch to the narrative.
However, this scripting sometimes limits the overall impact of the character’s emotional journey. Due to only hearing about their father’s alcohol problem through very present conversations, it was difficult to understand the progression of his drinking habits and how this has an ongoing impact on their lives, and rather focussed on the current disruptions that occurred as a result of their father’s drinking.
There were some interesting moments where you could see how potentially their father’s drinking had rubbed off on them. For example, Pip’s refusal to drink at her birthday party, alongside Krista’s quite blasé attitude to drinking, even turning to alcohol herself when things get complicated and tricky. Likewise, there could be room here to further explore how alcoholism can rub off in different ways in the family.
Overall, the cleverly-titled Sisyphean Quick Fix is an honest reflection of family dynamics in the face of alcoholism and proves a necessary watch to bring audience’s attention towards these behaviours. A programme note quite rightly highlights the support available for those who are, or who know of somebody who is, alcohol-dependent, with Drinkline and Alcohol Change UK being among those mentioned.
Sisyphean Quick Fix will be at Riverside Studios until 6th April.
★ ★ ★
