Welcome back to OPENING LINES, the interview series that puts playwrights centre stage by diving into the world of new writing and original work. Each interview explores the creative process, the challenges and triumphs of developing new ideas and work for the stage, why new voices and stories are essential to the future of theatre and what the industry is doing to nurture and support new writing. 

With Edinburgh Fringe fast approaching, I was lucky enough to chat to the fabulous Florence Lace-Evans about her show YES, WE’RE RELATED which is on from 31st July – 24th August at Underbelly (Underbelly Cowgate). Tickets available here!

Introducing Florence Lace-Evans –

Florence Lace-Evans trained at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating with First Class Honours from the BA Acting (Musical Theatre) course. In 2019, she was nominated for the prestigious Spotlight Prize. Since then, she has worked across both stage and screen, with credits including 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche (Old Joint Stock Theatre), The Contract (Eve Entertainment), and House of Nemesis (Poison Tree Productions).

YES, WE’RE RELATED was developed through Soho Theatre Labs and supported by the Keep It Fringe Fund. It became an instant hit with a sold-out London run at The Other Palace. The play follows dysfunctional sisters Sara and Saskia as they navigate the unpredictable stages of grief. While Sara clings to denial, Saskia is determined to mark the anniversary of their mother’s death with a chaotic celebration, complete with her eccentric partner, Mark and a party to die for. But when a jaw-dropping secret is revealed, the evening spirals from bad, to worse, to utterly catastrophic.

What inspired you to write YES, WE’RE RELATED?

I love British comedy, especially sitcoms, and I spent a lot of the pandemic watching and re-watching my favourite comedy shows. So many of the best comedy shows have iconic characters, but I wanted to write a comedy which centred around female leading characters. I also have a fascination with family dynamics, and how dysfunctionality can manifest itself into family relationships. Originally, I started writing a dark comedy centred around two sisters, Sara and Saskia, which later developed to become a play following four characters which included the two sisters, the addition of Mark, partner to older sister Saskia, and of course, the final character, a red squirrel. I didn’t start writing my show knowing grief would be one of the key themes, and there is so much tragedy in such a sensitive topic, but I strongly believe that comedy and tragedy are so closing connected. When I was writing the play, I found that leaning into the comedy within grief really helped bring the humanity to all the characters, and rather than shying away from the uncomfortable and messy side of how grief can manifest itself, I chose to dive head first and creating a quirky dark comedy about squirrels and grief. 

What does bringing a show to Edinburgh Fringe mean to you? Is this your first time or have you been before? 

Edinburgh Fringe is such a special festival to me. I first attended Edinburgh Fringe as an audience member when I was fifteen and I always wanted to take a show of my own one day. I went a couple more times to the Festival during my time at Central but it took writing a show about squirrels to finally persuade me to perform at the Fringe. I first performed at Edinburgh in 2024 with YES, WE’RE RELATED, where I performed my play for the first two weeks of the Festival. I think when I left, there were elements of the script that I wanted to develop further, and I knew I wanted to experience performing for the full festival – so I knew I had to come back! 

Were there any moments during the writing process that surprised you?

I don’t think I knew how much this play would take over my life. When I was finalising my first draft I would have sleepless nights waking up at 2am suddenly thinking of a new squirrel gag or how I was going to develop the story. I was also surprised at how quickly I knew exactly how I wanted the show to unfold, but being dyslexic, the challenging part was making it all make sense on paper, and making such an illogical story truthful. I also think when I partnered with Sue Ryder Charity back in 2024, I was so surprised at how much the charity talked about how people who are dealing with grief want to find the light in such a dark time in their life. At the time, the charity was planning a comedy and grief autumn campaign and we had a lot of common ground to discuss. Also, I’m not sure I believe in the law of attraction, but ever since I started writing about squirrels they are everywhere… and they almost nod in acknowledgement of what I am doing. 

As the writer and creator, how did it feel to bring your own words and vision to life on stage?

It was absolutely terrifying. Up until now I’ve only ever been an actor, so performing something I have written and having paying audiences see my show was very scary at first. I think once audiences settled into the world of the play I was surprised how many people came forward saying they felt they really related to the relationships and the story. Last year in Edinburgh I had the pleasure of meeting two sisters who had seen the show, and they stayed behind to say how much they saw themselves in both sisters and how they had recently lost their mother. It has been incredibly emotional thinking there are people out there who connect to my play, and it’s been really liberating as an artist making work that creates conversation and connection. 

Did you learn or discover anything about the show during rehearsals that you didn’t expect to?

I don’t think I realised when I wrote my play that it is incredibly emotional and physically demanding to perform. I play the younger sister, Sara, who is on stage for the entire 60 minutes of the show – so it requires a lot of energy and stamina. Saying this, we have a wonderful cast who are incredibly talented, and being the writer of the YES, WE’RE RELATED I think I had an idea in my mind of what those characters would be like before rehearsals. During rehearsals I wasn’t expecting the play to change and develop so much as it has, and for the better! Both actors, Jonas Moore (Mark) and Alexandra O’Neill (Saskia) have brought so much of themselves to the roles and it’s really helped transform the play further to be what it is today.  

How do you want audiences to think and feel about your show? 

Ultimately we are a bit of a nutty show, pardon the pun – but I really hope that audience members feel like they can relate to the story. Everyone has a story to tell when I comes to bereavement and how someone grieves, and each character within the show manifests grief in very different ways. YES, WE’RE RELATED doesn’t necessarily aim to tell you how someone should grieve, but instead it will hopefully debunk ‘the 5 stages of grief’ and highlight that you can grieve in your own quirky way – and comedy can be one of them. I hope that audiences love the comedy within the quirky and bizarre squirrel circumstances, and leave wanting more!

If you could ask your audience one question after the show, what would it be?

Do you like squirrels? And if no, do you like them now you’ve seen the show?

Do you see yourself continuing to explore similar themes and topics in your future work?

I really enjoy writing dark comedies, and from an acting perspective, approaching a character which is in a tragic world but through a comedy lens has really helped me find the depth and truth within each scene. I also think it’s important to continue to explore and challenge themes which might fit within the serious genre of theatre, and finding the light within the dark. However, I am currently plotting my next play which is based around completely different themes… but sadly I can’t tell you more than that!

Do the works of other playwrights, writers or theatre-makers influence your own writing? Are there specific writers or plays that have shaped your approach to storytelling?

I am a huge Shakespeare fan, and as cliché as it might be, I think his work is genius. I’ve had the pleasure on working on a few Shakespeare comedies and tragedies during my time at Central, but also have worked with RSC Directors who have so much knowledge and understanding of how and why Shakespeare wrote what he did, and many of his comedic characters are set within a tragic setting, making them extremely dark and funny. I also love playwrights like Joe Orton and Caryl Churchill, who aren’t afraid to write something which is dark and challenges the traditional structure of writing a play. Saying this, I adore comedy TV and I think writers like Greg Davies and David Mitchell are both so brilliant at writing such witty and hilarious characters – and their dry comedy style of writing has massively influenced how I approach writing for comedy.  

Do you feel that the theatre world is doing enough to support and nurture new writing? If not, what changes would you like to see?

I think now more than ever it is really important to continue to support new writing, especially up and coming writers. There are some brilliant opportunities already within the theatre world, such as Edinburgh Fringe, but I do think it’s important to create further opportunities around the UK and within commercial theatre. We need to continue to make theatre accessible, and I think a huge barrier for a lot of artists can be the cost of creating and producing their own work. I would love to see more education and support for artists who may be new to writing and producing, because it can be really daunting if you have no-one around you who has experience. I also think it’s important we start commissioning new writers at leading venues around the UK to help break the mould of commercial theatre and give those artists the platform they deserve!