This 1997 effort was Sheilagh Stephenson’s first play, which might be enough to make its somewhat structureless sense of drama forgiveable, especially as the dialogue - chiefly between three sisters gathered for their mother’s funeral - is so quietly sparkling and real.

The set design by Jon Morgan, centred around the deceased’s bed, creates a chaotic and intimate space in which the sisters can squabble and share.

Mary (Joanna Warner-Smith confidently takes the centre of attention) was mother’s ‘favourite’, as she became a doctor, but she spends the first Act lying on said bed in a fug of hypochondria, unaware that her deepest secret will be disclosed and shattered.

Charlotte Forster is Catherine, youngest and liveliest but forever feeling left out.

Teresa (Leona Evans in a splendid debut) tries to play the eldest, but husband Frank (an amusing turn by Peter Burton) and her health food business has gone to seed and she gets sozzled.

First time director Louisa Asquith creates a fine ensemble for this understated but rewarding piece, rounding out the cast with Kevin Bowers as Mary’s lover Mike, and Maggie Allington as Vi, who appears to haunt Mary, with a formidable presence.

Ham Quentin