Interview: Bettina Paris, ‘Sisyphean Quick Fix’

Ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024, we’re chatting with a range of creatives who will be heading to the city over August to find out more about their shows. Today we’re chatting with Bettina Paris about Sisyphean Quick Fix.

Can you tell us a bit about you and your career so far..

I began performing from the young age of four, working within the local theatre and film industry in my birth country, Malta. I landed my first professional role at the age of nine, in the TV Movie ‘Helen of Troy’. As a student of our local Stagecoach Theatre Arts School, I began my training in Musical Theatre, and eventually auditioned for and was accepted into Tring Park Performing Arts School at the age of 16, but was unable to accept my place on the course as, coming from a low income background, my family was unable to afford it. I then went deep into acting within the local stage and screen scene, building up my CV over the years, eventually beginning to make my own work. In 2012, I began working professionally as a theatremaker which allowed me to gain experience in a multitude of skills: from performance on stage and screen, directing and producing, writing and dramaturgy, facilitating workshops and developing theatre for children and youths, working in the UK and Europe. In 2015, I took on the role of director for the first time at the Malta International Theatre Festival, which saw various theatre companies from around the world come together and share their work. Our production of Mikħal, a devised theatre performance which took a closer look at the human yearning for community and meaningful relationships, went on to win several top awards at the Malta International Theatre Festival, which included a win for me with the Best Director award. In 2017, I moved to London to intern at Chickenshed Theatre whilst simultaneously auditioning for drama schools. In 2018, I graduated from ArtsEd and formed my own theatre company which went onto produce a number of successful performances in London. Notable venues I’ve worked with in the UK include The Space Theatre, Theatre 503, Theatre Peckham, The Albany, The Pleasance Islington, Waterloo East, V&A, The Roundhouse Pop-Up Theatre, Luton Hat Factory ,as well as international festivals (The Edinburgh Fringe, The Tin Forest - Glasgow, Facing The Gap – Birmingham, Budapest, Malta, ZiguZajg, SMASHfestUK, MITF).  2024 has been such a rewarding year, with Sisyphean Quick Fix’s journey so far (my writing debut!) and my first lead role on screen, October ’24 will see me direct Ben Power’s adaptation of Euripedes’ Medea at Malta’s national theatre. 

What is your show about?

Sisyphean Quick Fix is a poignant, funny and heartfelt comedy drama that deals with the complex realities of addiction, its impact on families, and the pull of responsibility for migrants when difficulties arise at home. Our story follows sisters Krista and Pip as they navigate through the increasing severity of their father’s drinking habits. Krista is an in-between-jobs actor working bars in London, and Pip lives in Malta and is newly engaged. As the pressures of caring for a person struggling with an alcohol addiction puts a strain on their lives, it tests their close relationship with each other. Theatre critic Ramona Depares said “Paris’s protagonists are neither martyrs nor prodigal daughters. They’re simply human, and we utterly feel their pain, their joy, their anger… The dialogue is honest, no-filter, replete with devastating witticisms that elicit laughter even as we wince at the raw pain it represents.” It is inspired by my own personal experience of caring for someone with addiction, and has been made with input from alcoholism charities in Malta and the UK.

What was the inspiration for Sisyphean Quick Fix and what’s the development process been to get to this stage?

In all honesty, when I started writing Sisyphean Quick Fix in 2019, I had no idea what it would or could be, it only got its title in 2023! At the time, I had just finished drama school and my father’s addiction had taken a turn for the worst. Obviously with my family being in Malta, and myself being in London, things were difficult to navigate and as I began writing almost as a cathartic act. I always knew that I had wanted to be more open about our struggles as a family living with someone with addiction and as a migrant artist, was eager to find a way to put myself on stage as I’ve found that casting opportunities over the years have been few and far between. I wrote bits here and there over the last four years, with a gap in between when my father eventually passed away. In 2023, I felt that I had a solid script that was ready to be shared with audiences, and I was equal parts excited and nervous to gauge initial feedback. I submitted the script to Theatre503’s unsolicited scripts and to the Papatango Award, making the latter’s long list and receiving really positive feedback from both entities. In January 2024, Sisyphean Quick Fix was chosen to form part of the Omnibus’s Engine Room: Next Page initiative, where a small number of scripts were selected to share a full reading of the play to a paying audience and gain more feedback. The team, led by the brilliant Nicky Allpress, took this as an opportunity to make our reading matter. We basically gave a full performance and recorded it to be sent off to venues for a potential staging. The response was overwhelmingly brilliant and through this we landed our run at the Pleasance this Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We had our initial previews back in my home country Malta, which were a huge success, and cannot wait to share our show with international audiences at the festival this Summer. 

What made you want to take Sisyphean Quick Fix to the Fringe?

I last performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014 in a two-hander by Philip Ridley. It feels so special to come back as an artist sharing my own work ten years later. There’s no better place than the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to showcase your work in an international context. It is the greatest celebration of arts and culture in the world, and the opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded people and be inspired by their work is such a great gift. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a proven training ground where some of today’s most popular entertainers got their start. It’s also home to one of the most adventurous audiences in the world – an audience that, along with the paying public, includes producers, promoters, journalists, and fellow artists, so it feels like anything is possible. I want to share this story with as many people as possible as it is vital and one that I believe has the power to instigate social change whilst still being funny and entertaining all at the same time. 

Apart from seeing Sisyphean Quick Fix, what’s your top tip for anybody heading for Edinburgh this summer? 

When it comes to what other work to see, I’m a big supporter of anything new writing. I believe there is so much talent out there and so many diverse stories the world needs to hear that often don’t get the platform they deserve. I’m excited to see the other play our brilliant director Nicky Allpress is directing, Jobsworth, written by Isley Lynn and Libby Rodliffe, and also Chalkline Theatre’s The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return – I’m always excited by the work they produce! I would say that anybody heading to Edinburgh this Summer should also take the opportunity to climb Arthur’s Seat – it’s an amazing, fulfilling experience, and you can end the journey with some lovely views, and some time for reflection. Go with friends, enjoy the company and maybe have a little picnic too (don’t forget to take your rubbish with you when you’re done!)

Why should people book Sisyphean Quick Fix?

People should watch this show because it is a vital, relatable piece of theatre, that is guaranteed to entertain and make you laugh, get people talking and truly encourage collective compassion and action. You’d also be supporting international voices and female-led work! Sisyphean Quick Fix was born out of a want to give a voice to the multiple casualties of addiction by putting those living with a person struggling with the disease at the centre, whilst sharing a message of hope for the future, in the sisters’ united compassion. As someone who has first-hand experience caring for someone with alcoholism, I would like the play to act as a vessel for audiences to delve into their preconceived notions of addiction. It is an engrained part of our culture to drink. This has unconsciously made a lot of people with addiction issues feel isolated an ashamed, which in part makes it difficult for them and their families to access the resources they need. The more we can engage in conversations about it, the more normalised becomes for people to seek help. I have done my best to present this in as genuine, raw and truthful a way as possible. 

When and where can people see Sisyphean Quick Fix?

Sisyphean Quick Fix is on from the 31st July to the 26th August, excluding the 14th, at the Pleasance Courtyard, Below at 11.05am (Duration: 55 minutes).