Personal Values

‘Me and your mum coped in very different ways… Scratch that. We didn’t cope, in different ways.’

Veda and Bea haven’t spoken since their dad’s funeral; not since Bea scratched something obscene into the bonnet of Veda’s cherished convertible. But one wet Tuesday morning, Veda shows up out of the blue on Bea’s doorstep, determined to break down the walls built by so many things left unsaid.

But before they can do that, there’s the small matter of the physical walls Bea has surrounded herself with – walls made of newspapers, suitcases, cutlery, commodes, keyboards and hundreds, likely thousands, of bags-for-life…

Chloë Lawrence-Taylor’s play Personal Values is a perceptive, poignant and witty look at sisterhood and grief. It is premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2025.