3 stars
A death in the family does funny things to people. Take Sara and Saskia, two very different sisters who are about to commemorate the first anniversary of their mother’s passing. With Sara camped up in her mum’s old flat, high-flyer Saskia turns up unannounced ready to party, with boyfriend Mark – or is it Mike? - following shortly after. There are ashes to spread and speeches to be made. If only they’d remembered to invite anyone.
Francesca Davies-Cáceres’ production of Florence Lace-Evans’ play hits the ground running in an old school one-room drama that throws a cast of disparate personalities together in a sit-com style set-up. This involves a phallic balloon, a bowl of trifle, a bow and arrow, and a squirrel called Gerald. This makes for some turbo charged sparring between Lace-Evans as Sara and Alexandra O’Neill as Saskia before Jonas Moore provides a gormless foil as Mark.
Developed with SOHO Theatre Labs, Lace-Evans’ script begins with domestic torpor and ends in an emotional mess that explodes onto the stage. The result is an increasingly wild fusion of everyday absurdism with a Mike Leigh style manic edge that looks at the different coping strategies those in mourning use to protect themselves.
Underbelly Cowgate until 24 August, 2pm
The List, August 2025
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