Posted at 11:00 a.m.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY BRITBOX
Roisin Gallagher stars as Shiv Sheridan in The Dry.
An alcoholic artist
The Dryis the story of Shiv Sheridan, a penniless 30-something artist who has spent the last decade partying in London. The Guardian gave it four stars when it was released last spring, describing it as a series “as dark and nourishing as a pint of Guinness”.
The first of eight episodes sees Shiv arrive at his parents’ home in Dublin for his grandmother’s funeral. What they don’t know is that she intends to spend more than a few days under the family roof. In addition, it has been almost six months since she touched a drop of alcohol and finding her family is far from helping her to stay sober…
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The stage of the series The Dry where Shiv (center) holds a family reunion, surrounded by his brother, sister and parents.
A dysfunctional family
The eldest of the Sheridan children, Shiv, is something of a shame in the family and is reminded of her past escapades at every opportunity. His mother expects nothing good from him, while she herself never misses an opportunity to pour herself a drink while hanging around the house, idle.
His sister is an apparently tidy lifelong doctor who still resents him for the money she lent him and has never been reimbursed. Shiv also has a gay little brother who has lots of sex and who is still trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life.
As for his father, he flees the idleness of his retired daily life by undergoing acupuncture and reflexology treatments – among others. And there is also her old flame, Jack, an irresistibly charming painter who starts hanging around as soon as he learns of her return, hoping to find the Shiv of crazy parties and who will even go so far as to tell her that she was more fun when she was drinking.
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Shiv’s parents, played by Ciarán Hinds and Pom Boyd
endearing characters
Shiv takes us with her into the gloom of Dublin as she searches for a place to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and continue her recovery program. But the atmosphere is never heavy since we frequently alternate between comical situations and more dramatic scenes – we end up having at least wet eyes when we discover the drama hidden behind the cracked facade of the Sheridan family.
Although the actors who play the main characters may not be familiar to us — Roisin Gallagher (as Shiv), Ciarán Hinds (his father), Pom Boyd (his mother), Siobhán Cullen (his sister) and Moe Dunford (Jack) —, we very quickly get attached to their sincere and poignant playing which makes them faces that we want to see again.
One episode at a time, the veil is lifted on their double lives, the little betrayals and the lies they tell themselves. And in the end, it’s both these protagonists who seem straight out of a novel by Liane Moriarty and their scathing replies that make the difference.
No announcement has been made to date regarding a possible second season, but if the Sheridans return to the small screen, they can be sure and certain that we will want to find them again.
The eight episodes of The Dry are broadcast on CBC Gem.