Lucy Christofi Christy in The Ophiolite [Andreas Lambis]

WHEN Takis dies in Britain, a feud ensues over where he should be laid to rest. In Philip de Voni’s family drama The Ophiolite, Takis’s Cypriot sister Aristeia (Lucy Christofi Christy) believes ancient tradition should be honoured and wants him interred where he grew up. But Jennifer (Ruth Lass), his English wife, insists he remain buried in Britain, where he made his life.

An ophiolite, as the programme informs us, is a slice of oceanic crust and upper mantle that has been thrust upwards by the collision of tectonic plates. It’s a neat metaphor for De Voni’s exploration of family fracture, displacement and the unearthing of submerged tensions.

The play opens in 2009 in Nicosia. Aristeia, with the help of her niece Xenia (Chrisanthi Livadiotis), attempts to trick Jennifer into signing a legal document in Greek agreeing to her husband’s body being moved to Cyprus.

The meeting is overseen by the family lawyer (Fanos Xenofos) and his Russian secretary (Bea Svistunenko), but foreseeing trouble, Jennifer outmanoeuvres them.

The second half takes place six years later. Now terminally ill and living in Oxfordshire, Jennifer is married to Dominic (Sam Cox) and keen to reconnect with her estranged daughter Penelope (Han-Roze Adonis).

The Ophiolite is well acted and briskly directed by Kerry Kyriacos Michael, but its density, and the number of competing themes, can make it feel a touch heavy-handed. Some trimming back of action would have helped it land with more force.

However, it’s great to see Theatro Technis entering a new chapter, with significant expansion planned: increased seating in the main auditorium and two new performance venues to follow.

Watch this space.

Until February 22
theatrotechnis.com/