Family History

by Rachel Feeny-Williams

Michael has been keeping his sister's horrible secret for fifteen years until she turns up in his office with a threatening letter that leads them back to their small home town of Plains, Kansas to find out who knows her secret.

Michael has been keeping his sister's horrible secret for fifteen years until she turns up in his office with a threatening letter that leads them back to their small home town of Plains, Kansas to find out who knows her secret.

  • Inquire About Rights
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Library

Family History

Recommended by

  • John David Brown: Family History by Rachel Feeny-Williams
    “

    This is a messed-up piece in the best way 😂 Family History is a very suspenseful whodunnit, but it’s also heartbreaking family drama with two fascinating, flawed, deeply human primary characters. A total gut punch of a play.

    This is a messed-up piece in the best way 😂 Family History is a very suspenseful whodunnit, but it’s also heartbreaking family drama with two fascinating, flawed, deeply human primary characters. A total gut punch of a play.

    ”
  • Charles Scott Jones: Family History by Rachel Feeny-Williams
    “

    Set in Kansas, FAMILY HISTORY is a domestic murder mystery - a genre in which RFW excels. This thrilling play, ostensibly about a family’s “temper gene,” is driven by Michael and his sister Sydney, siblings who share a dark secret: the death of their father fifteen years prior to their return home. As the pressure builds their dynamic is both touching and menacing as the playwright keeps us guessing all the way to the end. I admire how Rachel weaves in nostalgia, particularly with Grandmother. And the theatrical use of offstage voices for the intense denouement. Well done.

    Set in Kansas, FAMILY HISTORY is a domestic murder mystery - a genre in which RFW excels. This thrilling play, ostensibly about a family’s “temper gene,” is driven by Michael and his sister Sydney, siblings who share a dark secret: the death of their father fifteen years prior to their return home. As the pressure builds their dynamic is both touching and menacing as the playwright keeps us guessing all the way to the end. I admire how Rachel weaves in nostalgia, particularly with Grandmother. And the theatrical use of offstage voices for the intense denouement. Well done.

    ”
  • Christopher Plumridge: Family History by Rachel Feeny-Williams
    “

    Well, here's a family with an awful lot of history!
    The tension builds dramatically as we follow siblings Michael and Sydney travel back to their home in Kansas, but there's no wizardry dream here, but a past event which was always going to come back to bite them.
    This is Rachel doing what she loves best, and the twist she throws at us at the end will have audiences reeling!

    Well, here's a family with an awful lot of history!
    The tension builds dramatically as we follow siblings Michael and Sydney travel back to their home in Kansas, but there's no wizardry dream here, but a past event which was always going to come back to bite them.
    This is Rachel doing what she loves best, and the twist she throws at us at the end will have audiences reeling!

    ”
View all 12 recommendations
Michael Mason - Hot shot corporate type, lives in New York, protective of his sister, 33 years old.
Sydney Mason - Michael’s Younger Sister, 30 years old.
Lola Cray - Michael’s secretary. Late 20s
Grace Briggs - Michael’s Ex-Girlfriend from his hometown. Early 30s
Grandma (Alice Mason) - Michael & Sydney’s Grandmother.
Terrance Lott (Terry) - Michael and Sydney’s uncle (father’s side)
Sherriff Ray/Voice 2 - Was a police officer when Michael and Sydney were younger. Now Sheriff, early 40s. He’s later an unseen voice offstage.
Jackson Layton - Local barman. Sydney’s ex-boyfriend. Early 30s
Voice 1 - The unseen voice of Michael & Sydney’s mother.
Voice 3 - The unseen voice of Michael & Sydney’s father.