One of the show’s two critical incidents has already happened before the events in the play get going, and almost everything else that’s rather interesting takes place outside the front room in which the entire play is set. If you’re someone who thinks a play should ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’, this production is going to be challenging to sit through, to say the least. The singular setting keeps the focus on the siblings, but the dialogue makes references to all sorts of unseen characters, including other family members, particularly their mother, plus work colleagues, work clients, work managers (predictably, not seen in a positive light), current personal friends, previous school friends and so on. It’s as if there’s a whole other play out there somewhere with all these characters visible to the audience, even if it’s as one of those solo plays where one actor plays two dozen or more people all by themselves.
George (Fraser Houston) is in and out of ‘his’ flat (inverted commas mine, because it’s rented) far more often than his sister Harriet (Eliza Brown), or at least it seems that way. He works in a care home, she works in a coffee shop, the latter being, as far as I could deduce, a zero-hours contract. It would, at least for me, have been beneficial to see their workplace dynamics in action rather than recollected. Everything is channelled through the siblings’ perspectives, and their bickering only serves to highlight how potentially unreliable they both are as narrators of their respective working lives.
There are elements of realism that creep in, such as telephone interruptions and, in one scene, a conversation between the duo abruptly truncated because George quite literally needs to get back to work. (I find it intriguing how characters seldom, if ever, need the loo in plays that make valiant attempts to mimic real-life at-home situations.) The plot covers a lot of ground but doesn’t explore the play’s themes with as much depth as it could have. Harriet can’t understand why George isn’t in tears in the aftermath of a tragedy, but is crying the only valid response? It’s not as if he was bouncing around on the dance floor in a nightclub.
The dramatic tension ramps up as the show progresses, but as the sheer differences between the siblings are so vividly highlighted early on in the play, there is practically zero surprise when their conversations become heated. Some pertinent topics, such as the ongoing cost of living crisis and the climate emergency, creep their way into the dialogue, but this is ultimately a coming-of-age story about dealing with loss and bereavement whilst the world carries on regardless. It would have been good to have seen a lot more of that world in the play. An intriguing show with potential, there are some astute observations about life – and death – to think about.
Review by Chris Omaweng
“You ruin everything. You’re allowed to ruin your own life – but you’re not ruining my life too.”
Harriet makes a mess. George cleans up. That’s the way it’s always been.
After 12 years of living with different parents, on different sides of the country, the two siblings are once again cohabiting; this time, as adults. As Tornado Harriet – grieving and wielding a risky new hobby – sweeps through George’s serene flat, learned behaviours re-emerge and lifelong feuds erupt.
But when childish head-butting goes too far, and one sibling takes family fighting to explosive new heights, Hand-Me-Downs begs the question: what’s one tiny favour amongst flesh and blood?
CAST
Fraser Houston – George
Eliza Brown – Harriet
CREW
Eliza Brown – Writer
Toby Bruton – Director
Allison Heinz – Dramaturg
Molly Payne – Designer
Isabelle Jessop – Tech Operator
Puzzled Monkey Theatre presents
HAND-ME-DOWNS
Jack Studio Theatre
30 September to 11 October 2025
