Tina Rizzo and Bettina Paris in Sisyphean Quick Fix. Photo: Emma Micallef
Sisyphean Quick Fix is a new play scripted by Malta’s own Bettina Paris that’s soon headed to the Edinburgh Fringe. Maltese audiences were treated to a preview at Theatre Next Door this week, and I was there on opening night.
Paris’s debut play is a two-hander that focuses on two sisters with a problem – their alcoholic father, who’s consuming their lives. Krista (played by Paris herself) is an in-between jobs actor working bars in London; Pip (Tina Rizzo) lives in Malta and is freshly engaged.
In a short, but intense, one-hour, Paris takes a very emotional dive into the complicated, conflicting emotions that their father’s addiction wreaks on the two sisters. Given the short timespan of Sisyphean Quick Fix, the risk would be that the result is too superficial, skimming the obvious and regaling us with clichéd characters. But Krista and Pip are anything but clichés, as Paris skilfully creates an entirely credible – and likeable – duo that immediately commands our attention.
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.
Throughout the script, Paris introduces the occasional peppering of Maltese colloquialisms organically. Tacked on at the end of a sentence here and there, she uses the technique superbly. She does it so well that it is difficult to remember that this is her debut script. However, Rizzo’s performance here takes the upper hand, her use of Maltese is entirely natural and flowing. With Paris’s character, it has the unfortunate effect of coming across as an affectation.
Sisyphean Quick Fix is tightly directed by Nicky Allpress, although in some parts I could have done without the music distracting me from the sharpness of the dialogue (I’m not referring to the club scenes, where it’s expected, of course).
Paris’s scripting debut is more than solid. She’s clearly not afraid to take risks in her quest to do justice to a very difficult topic, while never losing sight of the fact that most people go to theatre to be entertained, as opposed to be preached at. And entertain she does, with Sisyphean Quick Fix being as funny as it is poignant. In short, she gives us all the feels in a 60-minute time span.
Each show closes with an insightful Q&A with a representative from Sedqa, Malta’s support agency for those facing problems of addiction and their loved ones. If you, or someone you know, are facing such issues you can reach out via the website for free and 100% confidential support.
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I received no payment for this review and I used press review tickets. The opinions expressed here are purely my own and the theatre company had no input/control over what I wrote. No affiliate links are included in this review.To learn more about my policies and my reviewing process, visit my Affiliate/Advertising disclosure page.