My Brother Jake

by Dave Osmundsen

Jake Barnsley is an Autistic theatre artist who has managed to have an “inspiring” career. Ethan, his higher-needs twin brother, has lived in his shadow their whole lives. When Jake's life and livelihood are at a crossroads, past resentments come to the surface, and Ethan makes an impassioned bid for agency.

Jake Barnsley is an Autistic theatre artist who has managed to have an “inspiring” career. Ethan, his higher-needs twin brother, has lived in his shadow their whole lives. When Jake's life and livelihood are at a crossroads, past resentments come to the surface, and Ethan makes an impassioned bid for agency.

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My Brother Jake

Recommended by

  • Alexander Perez: My Brother Jake by Dave Osmundsen
    “

    A remarkable piece that peels back the nitty-gritty of what it means to be a disabled artist, the weight of representing a multi-faceted community, and the limits of what polite society is willing to stomach before writing them off.

    The brothers are two sides of the same coin but where Ethan's reflection in Jake's shine gives him hope of what could be, the inverse strikes fear into Jake's heart to a degree he's not prepared to reconcile with.

    Gorgeous.

    A remarkable piece that peels back the nitty-gritty of what it means to be a disabled artist, the weight of representing a multi-faceted community, and the limits of what polite society is willing to stomach before writing them off.

    The brothers are two sides of the same coin but where Ethan's reflection in Jake's shine gives him hope of what could be, the inverse strikes fear into Jake's heart to a degree he's not prepared to reconcile with.

    Gorgeous.

    ”
  • Kyle Smith: My Brother Jake by Dave Osmundsen
    “

    I had the pleasure and honor of performing the role of Jake in a reading of this play, and my God. What a meaty, fascinating, challenging, complex role, and he's only half of the equation. A nuanced, complex, and compassionate portrayal of autism that asks necessary questions of who gets included and who does not in conversations of inclusion in the arts.

    I had the pleasure and honor of performing the role of Jake in a reading of this play, and my God. What a meaty, fascinating, challenging, complex role, and he's only half of the equation. A nuanced, complex, and compassionate portrayal of autism that asks necessary questions of who gets included and who does not in conversations of inclusion in the arts.

    ”

Development History

  • Reading, Neurodivergent New Play Series, 2024