ACTRESS Paula Wilcox jumped at the chance of appearing in the comedy The Memory of Water because she loves the thought-provoking way in which it gets people laughing at themselves.

The fact that it focuses on bereavement and death might have hindered a lesser play.

But Shelagh Stephen-son's work takes a shrewd look at a difficult subject with rare wit and insight.

Indeed, the production was winner of this year's Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

Paula, best known for TV sit-coms like Man About the House, told me: "I'd seen it in the West End and thought it was absolutely marvellous, so I was really pleased when I was asked to be in this tour."

She says the play, about three sisters reunited for their mother's funeral, has proved a rewarding and moving experience.

But, together with co-stars Patricia Kerrigan and Beatie Edney, she also soon discovered how emotionally draining it could be.

"It is actually quite tough to do. At rehearsals we found that some scenes were actually quite distressing but in others we were laughing so much we could hardly say our lines.

"Because it is so truthful about death and family relationships, it manages to confront one of the great taboo subjects and lets people laugh at themselves."

In the play, directed by Samantha Bond (Miss Moneypenny in the recent Bond films), the three sisters discover that their memories of family life are not bathed in the rosy glow they might have hoped.

As the skeletons start tumbling out of the cupboard they desperately try to discover where reality ends and family myth begins.

The Memory of Water opens at Poole Arts Centre's Towngate Theatre tonight and runs until Saturday.