Pass the Parcel, the full-length debut of playwright Sarah Whitehead, centers around the story of three sisters. The play is set in Liverpool, in the aftermath of their mother’s death. However, despite this tragic event, the focus of the play is towards the sisters’ reckoning and healing. Pain leads them to reflect, bicker, and dig up old wounds, but Whitehead’s witty writing refrains the scenes from being maudlin. Whether it’s Mona’s profession which involves running an astronomical chat line for people who get off on astronomy, Kelly being banned from Deliveroo, or the fun resides in a running joke about a narcissistic priest, Pass the Parcel cherishes stories with an incredibly quirky detail.
It’s unlikely that the sisters will get sentimental about their loss, even though they do love stirring up old grievances. They know each other too well, which leads to their being matter-of-fact about their bereavement. Whitehead, who has been a contributor to The Guardian in the past, has delved into family secrets before. In Pass the Parcel, she explores the traumatic family secret and the gift of second sight or extra-sensory perception of one of the sisters such that the sister has to rethink her life during an uncanny game of pass the parcel.
Pass the Parcel is a play that resonates between Shelagh Stephenson’s The Memory of Water and Des Dillon’s Six Black Candles. The background, painted by Eleanor Ferguson, may represent a wrapped-up parcel or the anatomy of women, depending on the perspective of viewers. With a female-centered production, directed by Nicole Behan, the play explores the relationships between sisters, mothers, and daughters. It invites the audience to immerse themselves in the tensions between freedom and responsibility, adventure and home.
With the warm and lively cameo of Eithne Browne playing the family friend Pamela, Pass the Parcel is a production that’s beautifully acted and captures the essence of the complexities of close relationships. Whitehead, at times, focuses on details that are small and televisual, but nevertheless manages to build a vivid image of the offstage characters such as Lindsay’s son Alex or the older generation whose actions continue to have a significant impact on the currently present lives of the sisters despite being absent. The play is ongoing until 8th February at the Royal Court in Liverpool.
Read the full article from The Guardian here: Read More
