All My Sleep And Waking is the sort of production that theatre goers hope to see, but don’t always experience. Fluent and sharp, with authentically uproarious moments, this play deconstructs the family dynamics surrounding a dying father and candidly explores the landscapes and legacy of memory.

Maria (Sharon Davis) is the younger daughter and the official carer of her father. She is genuinely compassionate, but fatigued by the monotony and the emaciating grief caused by the interminable lead up to her father’s death. The older daughter is Anne (Andrea Close), a rigid woman whose memory of her father as a feeble drunk etches an unyielding view of him. Peter (Andrew Gray), is the only son. He’s a neurotic but magnanimous man who sits somewhere in the middle of his sisters with his feelings towards his father. Josh (Patrick Wingrove) is Anne’s son, and serves as a generational sign-post as his own father is neglectful.

The cast is first-rate. Wingrove is a formidable young talent who gives a compelling performance. His scenes with the very sharp Gray make for some of the funniest moments in the play. Close is an indomitable presence as, for the most part, is Davis. Just occasionally I found myself questioning the authenticity of Maria, as I couldn’t always connect with her anguish.

Mary Rachel Brown’s playwriting is delicate and robust, heart-wrenching and hilarious. When you leave a play feeling, somehow, changed by the experience then a playwright’s job is most certainly done. A clever narrative device she uses is to make the father never seen or heard, even though we are aware he is only in the next room. This creates a physical space between the father and his children, which mirrors the languid and ethereal spaces between their past and present.

A works as streamlined and consummate as this one only comes together with proficient direction. Kelly Somes directs with no slack. This play has clear definition with a confidence that assures its audience it always knows where it’s going.

The set by Paulina Avellaneda-Ramírez is clever and inspired. Four wooden chairs are placed at equal points with plastic tape running between them and other dividers to portion the stage. The tape acts as a physical demarcation of the space (different rooms, places etc), while supporting the play thematically. As the characters’ memories and subsequent beliefs are deconstructed, the tape is gradually removed and the stage opens up to mimic the revelatory process. The stage, littered with dirty dishes, rubbish and cigarette butts, is cleared during the course of the play which also demonstrates a de-cluttering of the past.

Thank you to La Mama for supporting yet another superb production.