Memory of Water/Five Kinds of Silence

This play opened at the Hampstead Theatre in the summer of 1996 and became an instant hit. Three sisters and their partners gather at the home of their recently dead mother and revisit the past in poignant and often hilarous way Also included is "Five Kinds of Silence".

In The Memory of Water (winner of the 2000 Laurence 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. '"Combines a flair for witty dialogue with a relish for the dynamics of theatre ...a mistress of comic anguish" GuardianFive Kinds of Silence (winner of the 1996 Writers' Guild Award for Best Original Radio Play and the 1997 Sony Award for Best Original Drama) is the story of a family in which control has become the driving force, where everything has its place, and where there are only rules, duties and punishments. "An acute and funny writer, Stephenson carves out a welcome territory that is distinctive, contemporary and theatrical" Independent