What I’d Be – Jack Studio Theatre, Brockley

Writer: Tanieth Kerr
Director: Katy Livsey

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Complicated Relationships“

3 / 5

Makayla and Ally always had a close sisterly bond, despite the toxic behaviour of their mother attempting to keep them apart, and interfere with their plans for a better life elsewhere. But when Makayla leaves for University, Ally is left stuck at home, her dream of being a writer replaced with short-term jobs and her small-town lifestyle. The distance between the sisters impacts their once close relationship, and tender conversations are quickly replaced with hurried Voicemails and missed messages.

10 years later, the sisters unexpectedly bump into each other in a local park, surprised to see each other and even more surprised to see the trajectory their lives have taken. Ally is shocked to find out her sister is engaged, Mikayla (Rachel Jones) is shocked that Ally (Beth Birss) still hasn’t established a career or left the country. The strain from their dismantled relationship with their mother has clearly taken a toll on them both, individually and on their closeness, but now her funeral has passed, is it now time for the two sisters to start looking at how to mend the fracture between them and move on?

Tanieth Kerr’s narrative is tender and emotional, though it lacks the expected connection that would help to strengthen the production. The sisters relationship is initially shown as tight-knit and genuine, so when the audience are provided pre-recorded Voicemails that are ignored it doesn’t fully make sense, and when they reconcile ten years later with such a frosty approach it further sparks intrigue at what the catalyst was that pushed them apart. Despite many lengthy, emotive conversations, the crux of them distancing is never that clear, and although their unseen mother is painted as an unforgivable, nasty woman, the brevity of the pain she had inflicted onto them struggles to fully land, due to the audience only being revealed snippets of memories in their tangled web of complications.

The tumultuous relationship quickly spirals between emotion, anger, humour and love, successfully portraying a complex family unit. Jones and Birss are at their best when conversing directly with each other, showcasing their chemistry and having believable interactions that are packed with underlying care. Too often, the writing veers into being repetitive, unnecessarily saccharine monologues, but it is the snippets of genuine conversations that are the real gems, best displaying the sisters, their suffering and their strength.

Runs until 21st February 2026