Sisyphean Quick Fix review

Set designer Matthew Cassar hems in the actors with a high, ragged wall of cardboard boxes and clusters of empty wine bottles – all that remains when the sisters begin to pack up their father’s possessions. Matteo Depares’ sound design introduces the soft, steady splashing of lapping waves, a reference to the characters’ vividly recalled childhood memories. It’s a graceful touch that feels at odds with a soundtrack that’s packed with plangent, painfully on-the-nose tracks – REM’s Everybody Hurts, the Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want – which feel cheaply sentimental.

Paris plays Kris with an interesting mix of selfishness and self-recrimination. Frustrated by a lack of success in her career and relationships, Kris begins the play deeply self-absorbed, but it is only when she’s forced to confront her own propensity to drink excessively that she begins to empathise with her father’s situation. Tina Rizzo plays younger sister Pip – an immature 20-something refusing to take responsibility for herself as she drifts into a loveless marriage of convenience. Only too quick to guilt-trip Kris over leaving to pursue her career years before, Rizzo conveys her character’s long-nurtured resentment through pointed remarks and judgemental statements, but reveals a real capacity for forgiveness before the play’s end.

Although the sisters’ story feels too narrow in scope, Paris’ play remains moving and relatable, frankly articulating the complex emotions involved in caring for a loved one with addiction issues.

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