Written by Melody Anderson. Directed by Mindy Parfitt. An Arts Club Theatre Company production. At the Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre on Wednesday, April 18. Continues until May 6

Melody Anderson’s new play, Me and You, is funny, charming, and deeply affecting. There are just two characters, Liz and Lou, sisters whom we watch grow from young children to old women. It’s a quietly powerful thing to be part of the premiere of this women-centred, women-driven piece of theatre.

For 80 minutes we watch their lives unfold and witness the perpetually shifting dynamics of their relationship.

Me and You avoids the bossy older sister/irresponsible younger sister clichés in favour of something much more real and nuanced. Yes, Liz is older and bossier, but she doesn’t know herself the way Lou does. She sticks with the checklist of life goals: go to college, find a husband, have a career, have a kid. Lou is younger and more impulsive—she travels to Europe instead of going to college and then gets pregnant at art school—but she ends up being the dependable one, a confidant to her niece and caretaker for their aging mother.

Feminist themes arise throughout, naturally, normally, and the various male figures in the sisters' lives are sources of both comfort and deep disappointment, and the sisters must turn to each other to navigate them.

Patti Allan and Lois Anderson are wonderful as Liz and Lou. The ways in which they adjust their bodies, movements, postures, and voices as they inhabit the characters at their varying ages is already a sizable acting challenge, but they’re also wearing Melody Anderson’s incredible masks throughout the production. It’s hard to see the fine details of just how much the masks change throughout the character’s lives, so the bulk of that work falls on the actors. Amir Ofek’s set design is stunning: two huge walls that not only are composed of functional drawers, doors, secret compartments, and other surprises, but can also be climbed by the actors.

Mindy Parfitt’s direction feels seamless, and in part that’s a testament to her skill, but it’s also a team effort. Allan and Anderson are so charming and natural, even behind their masks, and Melody Anderson captures something truly special in her play.

For better or worse, sometimes nobody knows you like a sister; a lifelong partner in crime, the person who makes you laugh the hardest and irritates you the most, and sometimes she’s your best friend, and other times your first frenemy. Me and You beautifully conveys the complications of sisterhood—and if you’re lucky enough to have your own Liz or Lou, go see this tiny marvel of a play together while you have the chance.