Rachel is a successful young lawyer, in an affair with her married boss, and facing up to life after a double mastectomy. When she's told her cancer derived from the BRCA gene mutation, and that this is inherited, she feels duty bound to inform the rest of her family - none of whom she's had anything to do with for years.
Enter the cousins, Marion and Josie, from the other side of the tracks. Rachel would like to keep contact between them to a minimum, but events dictate otherwise, and, beyond the superficial culture clash, starts to find out they have more in common than she'd have liked.
The characters begin as stereotypes, forgivable in a 50 minute drama where they need to be delineated quickly, but acquire lives of their own as backstories emerge. Often very, very funny, there are also lovely moments of pathos as the relatives find that help and understanding can arise from unpromising roots, and a good ending that reminds us that empathy is perhaps the most underrated human quality. There are strong performances from all four actors, with Shonagh Price endowing Rachel with real depth as the central character.
Everything a 50 minute play should be.
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