The Great Wealth Transfer is upon us, apparently, and with it comes a world of pain for those who haven’t got their ducks in a row, inheritance-wise.

It can be an especially difficult and sometimes traumatising process for many in the LGBTIQ+ community, whose relationships – even life-long ones like that depicted here – have historically been overlooked (or rendered moot) by the law and frequently unacknowledged within families. With that in mind, British playwright Jennifer Lunn’s tender drama Es & Flo might well serve as a cautionary tale.

Fay Du Chateau and Annie Byron in Es & Flo. Photo © Robert Catto

Esme (Annie Byron) and Flo (Fay Du Chateau) are partners of 40 years, their relationship dating back to the heady days of the Greenham Common anti-nuclear weapons protests of the early 1980s. These days, they live a quiet life in Esme’s home.

But lately, Esme, a retired schoolteacher, has become increasingly forgetful, and Flo, though very protective and loving, seems ill-equipped to look after her lover’s emerging needs.

The stakes rise with a birthday card from Esme’s estranged son, Peter. Flo is immediately suspicious. Why is he reaching out, and...