Reviewed by: The List
Review by Jo Laidlaw | 26 February 2024

If you’ve ever tried to mentally weigh your mother’s suitcase when she comes on a surprise visit then this lovely two-handed play is either for you, or about you. When Daughter injures her leg, Mother comes to take care of her. What follows is a modern comedy of manners: the things we say out loud versus the things we whisper in our inside voices, the fear, obligation and guilt of familial relationships, how to build a found family and how to navigate a parent’s later years. Commendably, it’s all delivered with the lightest of touches. The drama plays out on Daughter’s sofa, broken up by phone calls from Grandma (the apples have not fallen far from the tree in this family) and Daughter’s boyfriend (someone needs to tell her that the so-called French Shit actually has more red flags than a communist convention on May Day, by the way). Delightfully, actors Youlia Alexander and Maroussia Vladi are mother and daughter in real-life, which explains their very real chemistry and easy familiarity. The script is pacy and tight and the repetition of certain lines is particularly effective, because what parent/child relationship isn’t an oft-repeated dance? In a sense, this is a coming of age story for our times. Just maybe don’t bring your mother.