Bettina Paris’ play has a scenario that will touch many. Two sisters, far apart, navigate caring for a father who behaves, one says, “like a 62-year-old teenager.” Pip lives near him in Malta; Krista has moved to London. Does that make their responsibilities unequal? Used to navigating his alcoholism together, they offer each other support, but a potent mix of guilt, resentment and jealousy hangs in the air as his condition worsens.
In Nicky Allpress’ production, Paris plays Krista and Tina Rizzo is Pip, the pair quickly building a bond based on sweet banter and blunt honesty. Their love is palpable, but you wonder, as is often the case, whether they would be friends if they weren’t siblings. Paris is quick to contrast them: Pip is smartly dressed, has a regular job and is newly engaged to work at a fancy restaurant; Krista eats Pot Noodles, balances bartending with auditions and has a similarly volatile love life. There’s light humour throughout, tempering the mournful tone set by snippets of the Rolling Stones (You Can’t Always Get What You Want) and Guns N’ Roses’ version of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.
Set on a set with two suitcases—each with stickers from different countries—the show initially alternates between their separate life dramas, punctuated by phone calls to and from their father, whose behavior is erratic. Paris’ script, which would work well as a radio play, shows how accustomed they both are to the situation, how effectively they work together as a team, but how it still disrupts their daily lives.
When Krista returns to Malta for a family visit, you expect the drama to reach boiling point, especially with a wedding looming and their father’s request to see their separated mother. That escalation never quite happens, which flattens the final stretch of the play. Part of the problem is that the father is not vividly portrayed, nor are the other supporting characters. But what remains is a moving, heartfelt portrait of sibling solidarity.