Rose loves her brother Mikey. Mikey loves Rose, Bruce Willis films and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but he hates change.

When their mum is diagnosed with leukaemia, their world is plunged into chaos. Rose returns home to find a very different brother to when she left. But today is his 18th birthday and Rose wants everything to be perfect but life with Mikey isn’t ever that simple.

Ella Carmen Greenhill’s moving and touchingly funny new play Plastic Figurines is inspired by events in her life, and is a funny and heartfelt story that explores autism and the relationship between siblings with very different views of the world.

Plastic Figurines is in many ways a very personal play,” says Ella. “It is inspired by my own experiences of autism, sibling relationships and losing my mum. At the same time it is a complete work of fiction and, whilst Rose and Michael are very close to my heart, they are not me and my brother.

“During the research process I spoke to a lot of people about their experiences of being close to someone on the autistic spectrum, a great piece I read said ‘If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism’. I think that’s so true and it really gave me the freedom to show my own experience through the play."

  • Plastic Figurines is at The Old Town Hall, High Street, Old Town, Hemel Hempstead, on Tuesday, April 21 at 8pm. Details: 01442 228091, oldtownhall.co.uk