Joshua (and Me)

Joshua (and Me) is a one-woman show about being a sibling to someone who is autistic; giving a voice to young people with responsibilities of care.

Hannah lives in Blackpool with Mum, Grandad, and two brothers, Ben and Joshua. The brothers are very different. Ben lets Hannah in his room, they play spies together, and, sometimes, he even gives her a hug. These things aren’t possible with Joshua. It’s like he speaks a different language. “We have to learn about each other’s worlds,” says Mum. Mission accepted.

As Hannah grows, so does her understanding of Joshua. We journey with her from seven to eighteen, when it’s time to leave home. But Hannah’s life has been moulded around the needs of her brother: “I don’t know who I am if I’m not his sister”. How can she find her way in a world where no one knows or cares, what it’s like to be Joshua’s sister?

Based on Rachel Hammond’s own life, alongside stories from other siblings of individuals with additional needs, Joshua (and Me) provides permission and space for siblings to honestly and openly explore their experiences, too.

Full of laughter, love and original music on loop pedal.