Following on from To Hecate in 2023, the dynamic duo who make up Sensible Footwear (Deborah Whitmarsh-Boyse and Sandra Hollins) are back at Camden Fringe The Button Jar.
We file into the Hen & Chickens Theatre to find Liz (Whitmarsh-Boyse, who also wrote the play) sorting through bags of stuff. Joined by Aly (Sandra Hollins), we see them interact a little before the lights go down and the play starts.
These women are sisters, and their mum has died. While they sort her belongings out, they bicker, reminisce, and grieve.
There are a lot of relatable markers here – choosing a funeral song that isn’t mawkish, spraying a scent that will always have an element missing, remembering childhood rivalries.
This two-hander may have been static on the page but comes to life in the hands of two actors who clearly support and understand each other. In The Button Jar, we are invited to access our own memories and voids in our life.
The jar itself reveals more memories half-tecalled, from school, from clothes kept for best, from other family members who will never be seen again. It’s a jar in a mending basket that has done service for generations.
I remembered how I played with my gran’s button box, with their mother of pearl and bone gems, polished and heavy, coloured and made of every material you can think. Liz and Aly used them as currency. I used them to construct elaborate meals for my dolls.
The Button Jar also notes how people react to death, from the ‘sorry for your loss’ (‘makes it sound like we mislaid our mother’) to the flowery letter that makes it all about the sender, a close cousin to the Christmas family update.
Expertly stage-managed by Jo Smith, who ensures nothing goes awry, this is a poignant but amusing tale of two sisters and a time in life we all have to face.
Having lost my dad, I completely understand that mix of sadness, regret, anger, and fear that threatens to overwhelm those left behind.
I also enjoyed the final choice of memorial song, but I won’t spoil it. It sent us out with a musical hook of hope and celebration and will be added to my future playlists.
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The Button Jar is at Camden Fringe until 25 Aug with details here.