Brutal Cessation
Directed by Bethany Pitts, performed by Alan Mahon and Lydia Larson
'I have fantasies... I lead you to a table… and I hurt you.'
A relationship. A relationship rotting. Purgatory.
Is having no reason to stay a reason to leave? At what point does the abuser become the abused? And why aren't we more afraid of women?
Two actors, one couple, swapping roles.
We'll be participating in the Progression Programme at GLYPT (Greenwich and Lewisham Young People's Theatre) in July, inviting them into our rehearsal room and providing four opportunities for young talent to shadow us. Applications are open here.
Dust
Directed by Sara Joyce, performed by Milly Thomas
Watch the trailer
A woman. A suicide. A choice. A fly on the wall. A funeral. A Bakewell tart. A life. A lie. A truth. An ending. Of sorts.
Alice thinks that life isn’t worth living. So she kills herself. Sort of. She is stuck, a fly on the wall. Forced to watch the aftermath of her suicide and its ripple effect on her family and friends, Alice quickly learns that death changes people. And that death is not the change she hoped for.
Who Are We
Milly Thomas is a London-based writer and actor, whose credits include Quacks (BBC2); Cargo (The Arcola Theatre); Dry Land (Jermyn Street Theatre); & Downton Abbey (ITV). Her plays ‘A First World Problem’ and ‘Clickbait’ have both played to sold out runs at Theatre503. She is a member of the Young Writers’ Lab 2015 and Writer’s Lab Alumni 2017 at Soho Theatre and of ‘Headstart’ – a group comprising of ten playwrights assembled by Headlong Theatre Company and Blacklisted Films. For television Milly has written episodes of 'River City' for BBC Scotland and 'Clique' for BBC3.
Milly Thomas, photo by Faye Thomas
Brutal Cessation
Alan Mahon trained at The Lir Academy in Dublin. Since graduating he has performed frequently in Ireland and England. Credits include: If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You(Old Red Lion), Hamlet in Hamlet (Tobacco Factory) and King Lear (Dublin Fringe).
Bethany Pitts was Assistant Director at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 2012–2013, working under Artistic Director Simon Stokes, and prior to that worked as Resident Assistant Director at Theatre 503. Credits include Spine (Underbelly Edinburgh / Soho Theatre / UK Tour – Fringe First Winner 2014); Tether (Underbelly Edinburgh); Much Further Out Than You Thought (Underbelly, Edinburgh & UK Tour); FreeFall (Pleasance Islington – Nominated for Off West End Best Director) DESERT (National Tour / Latitude Festival).
Lydia Larson trained at GSA. She is an Offie-nominated actress for her performance in Skin a Cat by Isley Lynn (The Vaults/The Bunker). Other credits include A Super Happy Story (Fruit) and Travesty (Assembly Rooms).
Michelle Barnette is a freelance creative producer and general manager. She is currently working on the Westway Trust's summer fesitval, Portobello Rising, and has previously worked for the Kevin Spacey Foundation as an intern and workshop leader on their education project Hothouse. Credits include: The Scar Test (Soho Theatre, general manager), Brutal Cessation (Assembly, Edinburgh), Dust (Underbelly, Edinburgh), and a new musical currently in development.
Alan Mahon in rehearsals for Brutal Cessation. Photo by Katie Edwards.
Dust
Sara Joyce is the Associate Director at The Bunker Theatre. She was previously the Resident Director at the Almeida and the Resident Assistant Director at Soho Theatre. Work includes: Elsa (Edinburgh Assembly); The Scar Test (Soho Theatre); Bush Theatre Emerging Writers’ Showcase; Crestfall (Rada), Three Short Plays by Samuel Beckett; The Win Bin (Old Red Lion).
Holly De Angelis is a freelance creative producer. Since graduating from The University of Manchester in 2014, Holly has worked at the Soho Theatre (current), The Royal Court & Graeae. Holly is also arts programmer for Brainchild festival.
What We Need & What You Get
We're jointly fundraising £4,000, splitting whatever we get right down the middle between the two shows.
Most of our major costs like the venue fees and PR are covered, so the funding will be used towards
- Travel to & from Edinburgh
- Paying the team
- The cost of printing the flyers, posters and scripts
- Accommodation
If we don't get the full amount, the funding will still be used towards these expenses.
In return for supporting these two important projects we have a lot of rewards on offer including
- Signed posters and scripts
- Tickets
- A play - written and performed especially for you!
- If we reach our target, you get to vote to see who gets to dump a bucket of ice water on our writer Milly Thomas - which will be filmed and shared during the Fringe
The Impact
Milly is continuing to establish herself as a feminist writer & actress who often explores crucial issues for 21st century women. Comedian and founder of The Guilty Feminist, Deborah Frances-White says ‘Milly Thomas is an extraordinary performer, a fearless writer and one of the most relevant, vibrant, funny and insightful millennial voices working in British Theatre Today. Often controversial, always daring, never disappointing- like the love child of Charlie Brooker and Diablo Cody’.
You’ll be supporting not one but two predominantly female-led, young creative teams. Both plays have received a great deal of media attention and are already selling tickets. Brutal Cessation was recently placed in Lyn Gardner’s ‘What to see & where to go’ at the Edinburgh Fringe 2017
Any financial contribution you could make, however big or small, would make a huge difference at this critical stage in our fundraising process.
Even if you can't donate, word of mouth means so much in Edinburgh so if you like what we have to say, please share our page far and wide! Follow us @dust_theplay & @BrutalCessation