Following a successful Edinburgh Fringe run in 2024, Bettina Paris’s two-hander, Sisyphean Quick Fix, has its London debut at The Riverside Studios in Hammersmith.
The play follows two Maltese sisters: Krista, an in-between jobs actor working in bars in London whilst waiting for the big break, and Pip, a newly engaged hard-working career-oriented professional who has remained in Malta.
Gradually, the sisters come to realise that their father has developed an addiction to alcohol. As they come to realise the nature and severity of his drinking problem, the pressures of caring for a person struggling with substance misuse, both from afar and in person in Malta, puts a strain on their lives and will test the closeness and resilience of their relationship with each other, their attitude towards their very different career paths, and their connections with others.
Taking place over a timescale of two months, (and running at just over 75 minutes), Sisyphean Quick Fix is a fast-moving, intensely personal, thought-provoking yet consistently humorous drama examining the wide-ranging impact of identifying and tackling substance misuse, and the concomitant stresses and strains of the insistent pull of home and family for migrants.
The set is cleverly constructed, with a claustrophobic feel imparted by many cardboard boxes strewn about the stage. Cleverly, the dispersion of props gives scattered clues to the nature of the piece, with a number of wine and spirit bottles not quite hidden from view.
The use of two wooden blocks, with UK and Maltese stickers and logos liberally applied to each, is also a clever touch, helping to establish the geographical location of the sisters. When they are apart, the blocks are positioned on separate sides of the stage; when Krista returns to Malta, the blocks are pushed together, symbolising the sisters’ physical reunion.
The success of this production rests on the believability of Krista and Pip as siblings, and their relationship with each other. In this respect, there is no issue.
Bettina Paris and Tina Rizzo completely convince as sisters, despite the actors having no great physical similarity. The dialogue fizzes along and always feels natural and grounded in reality. Krista and Pip squabble, snipe, laugh and tease, yet all the while maintaining the strong bond between them upon which the fundamental truth and effectiveness of the play depends.
Tina Rizzo’s Pip is buttoned up, slightly reserved and, in the earlier part of the narrative, effectively conveys a subtle air of resentment that she has been left on the spot in Malta to deal at first hand with the increasing problem of their father’s dependency.
Bettina Paris, as Krista, is more passionate, impetuous, and chaotic, with a drive and a desire to follow a different path in life, yet all the while only too well aware of those familial responsibilities which may shape and constrain her future direction.
The similarities and differences between the sisters are clearly conveyed. Whilst both are naturally deeply affected by their father’s deteriorating situation, they successfully portray their varying reactions to the impending tragedy. The narrative effortlessly delivers a nuanced acknowledgment of how addiction can affect people, especially close siblings, in unexpected ways.
Given the relatively short time span of the production, there is a danger that the end result might have become rushed, formulaic, or superficial, with the narrative flow hampered by the use of short snippets of charged dialogue employed to drive forward the story.
Yet, this is not the case, and it is a testimony to the strength of the narrative core, and its delivery by the actors, that the audience is left at the end with a wish to know more about the sisters’ background, and how their relationship will develop as they face a new future in very different circumstances.
Will Pip’s relationship with Max finally result in marriage? Does Krista’s future still lie in London and on the stage? How will their relationship with their mother (a rather undeveloped theme in the narrative) develop?
In the often-bewildering plethora of new productions to seek out and see, it is always a pleasure to come across a thoughtfully crafted, sensitively nuanced play that combines humour, sadness, and poignancy in equal measure.
This is such a production and one that is well worth seeking out.
In the very final scene, the sisters explicitly ask themselves the question “Could we have done more?” As far as this little gem of a show is concerned, the answer is “No.”
Review by Johnny Oxford
Sisyphean Quick Fix follows two sisters – Krista in London, and Pip in Malta – as they realise the severity of their father’s drinking problem. As the pressures of caring for a person struggling with substance misuse, both from afar and in person in Malta, puts a strain on their lives, it tests their close relationship with each other, with their careers, and with their connections with others. Taking place over two months, Sisyphean Quick Fix is a heartfelt comedy drama that takes in the peaks and troughs of caring for a loved one, and the pull of responsibility for migrants when there are complications back at home. The Riverside Studios run is performed in support of Alcohol Change UK.
Krista – Bettina Paris
Pip – Tina Rizzo
Written and produced by Bettina Paris
Directed by Nicky Allpress
Set Designer – Matthew Cassar
Sound designer – Matteo Depares
Lighting Designer – Oliver McNally
SISYPHEAN QUICK FIX
Riverside Studios
18 March to 6 April 2025
