Sibling relationships come into being before friendships and romance and usually outlive our parents. They are often the longest lasting of our lives. They tend to be fraught relationships, full of an ambivalent combination of conflict, rivalry and support; yet they are the training ground on which we learn how to compromise and negotiate; to support and defend; to surrender and accommodate. Necessary skills outside the home. They are also the fodder for many a film, television series and play. In this instance, the sibling connection is grist for mill of Gail Louw’s Two Sisters; a moved reading presented at Emanuel Synagogue.
It is 1996 and the last days of one of Rika’s regular visits to her sister Edith’s apartment on Yam Sdot Kibbutz in Israel. The sisters are now in their seventies and the play attempts to tease out the jealousies and pains of the past. Rika wants Edith to acknowledge a humiliating event in their youth, Edith’s viewpoint is far more pragmatic. The memory of the event is overwhelming for one; trivial for the other – and each struggle to understand the other’s viewpoint.
Director Nicolas Papademetriou has managed to secure two very well-known actresses in Jean Kittson (Rika) and Annie Byron (Edith). They are players of extensive experience and comedic ability but the script does not give them much to work with. Louw’s work is pitted with missed opportunities to really dig beneath the intimate knowledge that siblings have of each other and the emotional intensity that that knowledge can bring. How is this sisterly relationship different from so many others? Not significantly. And if it is not significantly different then it needs to offer a fresh perspective. Is Louw saying this relationship is typical or atypical? The intention is unclear.
But how encouraging to see a spiritual centre reaching out to its community by providing enriching cultural experiences. One hopes that Emanuel Synagogue will continue to offer such programmes to the broader community and that other such places might take a leaf out of their book.
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
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