A Typical Sister – Bridge House Theatre – London

Writer: Molly Parker

Director: Matt Owen

This is a story about a girl growing up with two severely autistic brothers…

That really isn’t what the story is. Very carefully, very sensitively, very honestly, Molly describes her life growing up in a warm, supportive, affectionate family, with two younger brothers that don’t communicate conventionally. The world of Normal, of neuro-nondivergence, thinks they don’t communicate at all, and a big part of this narrative is making it clear that they do communicate, they do express feelings and preferences, frustrations and joys, and their family and friends have a responsibility to work out what they are communicating and respond appropriately. At no point does Molly suggest this is easy, and at no point does she suggest that giving up on them is an option. They’re her brothers.

The difficulty is the key. It is hard understanding people who don’t speak. It is hard accommodating inflexible routines. It is hard taking decisions for adult family members who may not agree with those decisions, but can’t tell you that.

This theatre-piece is an attempt to bridge those gaps in communication. It is a searingly honest autobiographical story, and Molly is supported, by four multi-instrumental musicians. The musicians also handle packets of Monster Munch and a variety of liquid refreshments.

The piece has some short-comings. The music has a sort of Vashti-Bunyan-lite folky sound, and is soothing rather than inspiring. The song lyrics revolve around home and belonging, and those themes are certainly present in Molly’s story, but she doesn’t need strummed guitars to point that out. The music does provide a change of tone, but again, the story-telling by the subject of the story is fluent and varied, and doesn’t need help. Once or twice, the musicians provide a line or two of characterised dialogue, and developing that would give the four a dramatic function. At present, they feel a bit like Molly’s support group with guitars. And, of course, Monster Munch.

The good intentions of this piece are palpable. There is an urgency in Molly’s desire to introduce her brothers to the world, to demonstrate their variousness, their individuality, their human-ness alongside their autism. The piece was originally entitled Jigsaw, but the title was changed in response to individuals with experience of autism asking to be seen as people and not as a puzzle that needs to be solved. This play is a serious and committed attempt to show that. It is timely, it is challenging, it is hugely informative. It deserves to be seen.

Runs until 9 April 2022