Rose Heiney's debut play Elephants is a sharp black comedy with a tender heart that explores the paths we take in life and their repercussions on the people we love most.

5.53 p.m. Christmas Eve. Richard and Sally are waiting for their friends and family to join in the festivities – the tree is decorated, the wine is mulling, the presents are wrapped. But behind this shiny façade, nothing is quite right – and as cracks start appearing, attempts to paper over them make for an explosive evening of revelations and dark secrets exposed.

Elephants premiered at Hampstead Downstairs in December 2014 in a production directed by Tamara Harvey.