DRYING OUT IN DYSFUNCTION
A second chance to see how returning emigré Siobhán battles a drink problem and family issues in an Irish-set dramedy
Acomedy about alcoholism might seem a tough ask, but The Dry manages to mine laughs from the dark corners of addiction. The Irish series, which debuted on UK streaming service, Britbox, before being snapped up by RTÉ, has been compared to Fleabag because it centres on a thirtysomething woman trying to get her act together as she negotiates her sobriety on her return to Dublin from London for her grandmother’s funeral.
Roisin Gallagher plays Shiv Sheridan, a recovering alcoholic who’s lost her job in London. She decides to stay on in Dublin but her dysfunctional family threaten to drive her back to the bottle.
Mum Bernie (Pom Boyd) is depressed after the death of her eldest child some years ago and dad Tom (Ciaran Hinds) finds solace in the arms of acupuncturist Mina (Hélène Patarot). Squabbles with her brother Ant and sister Caroline add to Shiv’s problems.
Creator Nancy Harris, who scored a Bafta nomination for the eight-part series, was inspired to write it after giving up alcohol for a year. ‘I’m from a family where there was quite a lot of addiction,’ she says. ‘The Dry was a rich opportunity to look at family, drinking and addiction in different ways.’
Given Roisin Gallagher’s assured performance, it’s hard to believe this was her first significant TV role after small parts in The Fall (2013) and Come Home (2018). It was her big break and she’s gone on to star in Sky’s The Lovers with Johnny Flynn.
‘When I first read the script I just went, “Yes!”’ says Roisin. ‘Shiv is a thirtysomething, outwardly managing woman and maybe that’s not what we think alcoholics look like. I felt really connected to her and what she had to say and the way she had to say it.’
The Dry is now getting a wider audience as it begins a run on UTV before a second series that will air on RTE later this year.
It was certainly a coup for the show to have landed Oscar-nominee Ciarán Hinds. What’s interesting is that The Dry is a real family affair for Ciarán because Hélène Patarot, who plays Tom’s lover Mina, is his wife of 37 years. He laughs that their one sex scene was choreographed by an intimacy coordinator, as is now standard in the industry. ‘But she knew we were married and said we probably wouldn’t need any supervision,’ jokes Ciaran, 70. ‘And indeed Hélène had the time of her life!’
■ The Dry, tonight, 10.15pm, UTV.