
Sisyphean Quick Fix comes to the Riverside Studios after being Awarded BEST PLAY and Theatre Weekly’s Best of the Fest ’24 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024.
Written by Bettina Paris, who also stars as Krista, it is based on her own lived experience. Tina Rizzo plays her devoted sister Pip, left behind in Malta, as they navigate supporting their father – and each other – with one in London and one in Malta. The resentment of distance and the unequal burdens it brings are brought to life.
The set is simple but lighting and direction allow the audience to be very clear when the sisters are separated by distance and when they, eventually, come together in one place.
The haunting realisation that life will never be normal, Paps will never be OK, that this requires sacrifice from his daughters is tenderly and painfully displayed. Relationships suffer, opportunities are lost. There is a lack of control and the fear of every phone call is writ large.
This could be difficult material but Paris has deftly interwoven the humour and love between the sisters to reflect that even in the most rocky of times, there is still laughter. Reflecting on their childhoods, they can still find the moments of joy.
Rizzo, as sister Pip, reflects the desire to follow a standard path and is adept at ribbing her sister with her words while her eyes still reflect her anxiety and worries.
Paris clearly takes the issues raised seriously as the production has teamed with Alcohol Change UK and materials and resources were available after the show.
Leave a comment