Step Behind The Stage
Yes, We're Related
The Other Palace, London - 12/11/24
Review by Nicki Storey
Making its London debut after a highly acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe run, Yes, We’re Related is currently playing a limited run at The Other Palace Studio until Sunday 17th November 2024. This dark comedy stars Florence Lace-Evans and Eleanor Griffiths as sisters Sara and Saskia, alongside Fabian Bevan as Saskia’s long-term boyfriend Mark, as they come together to commemorate one year since their mother’s death.
Yes, We’re Related is set entirely in Sara’s living room, which was previously her mother’s flat. This is also where Sara has been living for the past eight months due to a red squirrel named Gerald, whom she is convinced is her mother reincarnated, terrorising the bedroom.
The Other Palace Studio provides an intimate setting for this production, with the audience facing the stage from two angles. We are invited directly into the space, positioned as a fly on the wall watching the chaos unfold. This proximity only further highlights the incredible performances from the cast of three.
We are quickly introduced to the relationship dynamics, with Sara and Saskia exhibiting a sisterhood reminiscent of BBC’s Fleabag, another production which originated at the Edinburgh Fringe. Laid-back Sara and highly strung Saskia are continually presented as polar opposites, from their wardrobes to their posture and movements around the stage.
A personal highlight of this production was the brave timing choices throughout. Yes, We’re Related is entirely unafraid to sit in the silences between dialogue, creating moments of hilarious comedic relief as the audience’s laughter fills the studio. Perhaps more impressively, these same silences also give way to utterly heart-breaking scenes, where we see the characters at their most emotionally vulnerable. The sheer emotional range on display is astounding.
The sparse use of lighting changes and music added to the intimacy and relatability of the production. Their use was integral in diffusing tense moments and, at times, acted as a poignant reminder of the sisters’ departed mother, personified, of course, by the off-stage red squirrel who is responsible for the flickering lights after chewing through the cables.
With such a small ensemble, each cast member is given the opportunity to shine. Florence Lace-Evans, who also wrote the play, portrays Sara’s gut-wrenching desperation to not let her mother go, even a year after her death. This is beautifully juxtaposed with her hilariously energetic scenes alongside Fabian Bevan, who was a constant source of comedy and elicited some of the biggest laughs of the night through his character choices.
The emotional climax of the show comes towards the end, where Sara and Saskia are forced to face some hard truths about their relationship and the ways in which they have each processed their grief. Eleanor Griffiths’ portrayal of Saskia during these moments was incredibly raw and did not leave a dry eye in the house.
Florence Lace-Evans’ writing is sharply clever, with multiple running jokes woven throughout the 50-minute play, including callbacks to earlier dialogue that invite the audience in through shared in-jokes. Finding comedy within such a serious subject is no easy feat, yet Yes, We’re Related achieves this in a thoughtful and tasteful way.
As themes of grief and the death of a family member are ever-present, Yes, We’re Related is partnered with Sue Ryder, whose message is that no one should face grief or death alone.
Cast on the Night:
Florence Lace-Evans as Sara
Eleanor Griffiths as Saskia
Fabian Bevan as Mark