Next Door at NYTW provides a home for companies and artists who are producing their own work. This initiative provides each project with subsidized resources and space for development and performance in the Fourth Street Theatre. As part of an ongoing effort to expand support for artists at every stage of their careers, this series served over 300 artists in the first two years alone.

DUST

ABOUT

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Written and Performed by Milly Thomas
Directed by Sara Joyce
Produced by Ceri Lothian & Ramin Sabi for DEM Productions with Trafalgar Theatre Productions

NEXT DOOR at NYTW

August 29, 2019—September 29, 2019

This performance has an age recommendation of 18+; it contains themes of a graphic nature and includes depictions of self-harm and suicide.

Run time: 75 minutes with no intermission
No late seating

Read Synopsis

‘I’ve been dead for three days.’

A woman. A suicide. A choice. A lie. A truth. An ending. Of sorts.

Life, Alice thinks, isn’t worth living. So she kills herself. But she’s 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 discovers that death isn’t the change she hoped for.

★★★★★ “A thrilling 80 minutes of pure theatre.” Broadway World

★★★★★ “Insightful, emotionally-charged and not to be missed for all its life and energy. Milly Thomas’s performance is spectacularly beautiful, honest, gruesome and sad.” The Upcoming

Following three award-winning, sell-out runs across the UK and London’s West End, DUST by Milly Thomas, directed by Sara Joyce, transfers to Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop for a limited run until September 29th.

  • MILLY THOMAS began writing when she graduated in 2014 from the BA Acting at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Milly’s first full-length play, A First World Problem, opened at Theatre503 in July 2014 to critical acclaim. She was commissioned by The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama to write Piggies in 2015. Her play Clickbait opened the 2016 Spring season at Theatre503 and played to sold-out audiences and an extended run. She is a member of both the Young Writers’ Lab 2015 and Writer’s Lab Alumni 2017 at Soho Theatre. She has taken part in The Royal Court Writers’ Group 2016 and is a member of Headstart – a group comprising of ten playwrights assembled by Headlong Theatre Company and Blacklisted Films. Milly has taken part in writers’ rooms for Pure Grass Films, Balloon Entertainment and Brown Eyed Boy and completed the 2016 Channel 4 Screenwriting Course. She has written episodes of “River City” for BBC Scotland and “Clique” for BBC3. Milly is currently under commission from HighTide as part of their First Commissions programme. Dust has recently transferred from the Soho Theatre. Acting credits include: “Schooled” (Netflix); “The Feed” (Amazon); “Enterprice” (BBC3); Dust (Soho Theatre/Underbelly, Edinburgh); “Quacks” (BBC2); Cargo (Arcola Theatre); Dry Land (Jermyn Street Theatre); “Downton Abbey” (ITV); A First World Problem (Theatre503); and Woman in Gold (BBC Films). Writing credits include: Dust (Soho Theatre/Underbelly, Edinburgh); Brutal Cessation (Assembly, Edinburgh); “River City” (2 episodes for BBC Scotland); “Clique” (1 episode for BBC3/Balloon Entertainment); Clickbait (Theatre503); Piggies (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama); and A First World Problem (Theatre503).

Milly Thomas / Writer

MILLY THOMAS began writing when she graduated in 2014 from the BA Acting at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Milly’s first full-length play, A First World Problem, opened at Theatre503 in July 2014 to critical acclaim. She was commissioned by The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama to write Piggies in 2015. Her play Clickbait opened the 2016 Spring season at Theatre503 and played to sold-out audiences and an extended run. She is a member of both the Young Writers’ Lab 2015 and Writer’s Lab Alumni 2017 at Soho Theatre. She has taken part in The Royal Court Writers’ Group 2016 and is a member of Headstart – a group comprising of ten playwrights assembled by Headlong Theatre Company and Blacklisted Films. Milly has taken part in writers’ rooms for Pure Grass Films, Balloon Entertainment and Brown Eyed Boy and completed the 2016 Channel 4 Screenwriting Course. She has written episodes of “River City” for BBC Scotland and “Clique” for BBC3. Milly is currently under commission from HighTide as part of their First Commissions programme. Dust has recently transferred from the Soho Theatre. Acting credits include: “Schooled” (Netflix); “The Feed” (Amazon); “Enterprice” (BBC3); Dust (Soho Theatre/Underbelly, Edinburgh); “Quacks” (BBC2); Cargo (Arcola Theatre); Dry Land (Jermyn Street Theatre); “Downton Abbey” (ITV); A First World Problem (Theatre503); and Woman in Gold (BBC Films). Writing credits include: Dust (Soho Theatre/Underbelly, Edinburgh); Brutal Cessation (Assembly, Edinburgh); “River City” (2 episodes for BBC Scotland); “Clique” (1 episode for BBC3/Balloon Entertainment); Clickbait (Theatre503); Piggies (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama); and A First World Problem (Theatre503).

Sara Joyce / Director

Sara has most recently worked with National Youth Theatre as writer and director, developing a new play as part of Epic Stages. Before this she directed Armadillo by Sarah Kosar. She is an Associate Artist of Pan Pan Theatre Company and was previously a Director with the Old Vic 12.

Other directing credits include Hunch by Kate Kennedy, Best Life by Tamar Broadbent,  Elsa by Isobel Rogers, The Scar Test by Hannah Khalil, Split by Emma Pritchard and Tamar Broadbent, On Raftery’s Hill by Marina Carr at Bunker Theatre (reading) as part of ‘Damsel Develops’, Bush Theatre Emerging Writer’s Showcase, Soho Young Playwright’s Award showcase, The Win Bin by Kate Kennedy, Crestfall by Mark O’Rowe, Act Without Words I; Rough For Theatre II; Catastrophe by Samuel Beckett (Offie nominated for Best Director).

Sara was Resident Director at Almeida Theatre and Resident Assistant Director at Soho Theatre. She has worked as associate and assistant director with Dominic Dromgoole, Claire van Kampen, Gavin Quinn. Richard Eyre, Rupert Goold, Steve Marmion.

She was shortlisted for the KSF Emerging Artist’s Award and Platform Presents New Writing Prize and is a recipient of the Deutsche Bank Award for Creative Enterprises. She studied Drama and Theatre at Trinity College, Dublin and trained at Ecole Jacques Lecoq.

Anna Reid / Design

ANNA REID is a scenic and costume designer based in London and a graduate of Wimbledon College of Art. Design credits include: Drip Feed, Dust, Fury and Brute (Soho Theatre); Schism (Park Theatre); Grotty (The Bunker); Rasheeda Speaking (Trafalgar Studios); Collective Rage, Dear Brutus, The Cardinal, School Play (Southwark Playhouse); Tiny Dynamite (Old Red Lion); Rattle Snake (Live Theatre Newcastle, York Theatre Royal, Soho Theatre); The Kitchen Sink, Jumpers for Goalposts (The Oldham Coliseum); Sex Worker’s Opera (set only, National Tour and Ovalhouse Theatre); I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard (Finborough Theatre); For Those Who Cry When They Hear The Foxes Scream (Tristan Bates Theatre); Dottir (The Courtyard); Dry Land (Jermyn Street Theatre); Arthur’s World (The Bush Theatre); Hippolytos (Victoria and Albert Museum); Hamlet (The Riverside Studios). annareiddesign.com

Jack Weir / Lighting Design

JACK WEIR trained at The Guildhall School and won the ETC award for Lighting Design in 2014. He is a WhatsOnStage award and an Off West End Award nominee for Best Lighting Designer. Jack’s recent lighting design credits include; Rain Man (UK Tour); The Boys In The Band (Vaudeville, West End), Salad Days (Union Theatre); Dust (Soho Theatre); Rothschild & Sons (Park Theatre); Hanna (Arcola Theatre and UK Tour); Georges Marvellous Medicine (Leicester Curve, Rose Theatre and UK Tour); Judy! (The Arts theatre); Assata Taught Me (The Gate Theatre);The Plague (The Arcola Theatre); Out Of Order (Yvonne Arnaud & UK Tour); Pray So Hard For You (The Finborough Theatre); Laronde (The Bunker Theatre); Four Play (Theatre503); Summer In London (Theatre Royal Stratford); Pyar Actually (Watford Palace & Tour); Talk Radio (Old Red Lion); Holding The Man, Beautiful Thing (Above The Stag); West Side Story (Bishopsgate Institute); Hunch/Velvet (Pleasance/Assembly Edinburgh). weirdlighting.co.uk

Max Perryment / Sound Design

MAX PERRYMENT is a London, U.K. based Composer and Sound Designer. In addition to theatre he writes music for film, television commercials and dance. He has an M.A. in Electroacoustic Composition from City University. Theatre includes: Utility (Orange Tree Theatre); Rasheeda Speaking (Trafalgar Studio 2); Twilight Los Angeles 1992 (The Gate, Off West End Award Nomination); Dust (Soho Theatre); The Tide (Young Vic, YV Taking Part); Romeo and Juliet (Orange Tree Theatre); Dear Brutus, Last of the Boys (Southwark Playhouse); Hair (The Vaults and The Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester); Broken Dreams (Kestral Theatre: HMP Springhill and Royal Court); Start Swimming (Young Vic and Summerhall, Edinburgh); Replay (Soho Theatre, Pleasance Edinburgh, 59E59 New York); Goodbear (Soho Theatre and Pleasance Edinburgh), Landmines (The BRIT School, Ovalhouse and Otherplace Brighton); Skin of the Teeth (The Vaults, and Ophelia Theatre, New York); START devised by Young People Lyric Theatre (Lyric Theatre); Nest (Arts Depot, Brighton Fringe and National Tour); The Frontline (Arts Educational Schools London); Blood and Water (Kestral Theatre: HMP Springhill and Royal Court); R and D (Hampstead Theatre Downstairs); Reimagining Uncle Vanya (Almeida Theatre); Four Play, Clickbait, Sense of An Ending (Theatre503); And Then Come the Nightjars (Theatre503, Bristol Old Vic and National Tour, Off West End Award Nomination); The Surplus, The Remarkable Case of K, Basecamp (Young Vic, YV Taking Part); The Three Lions (St. James’ Theatre and National Tour); Black Dog Gold Fish (The Vaults).

Ceri Lothian & Ramin Sabi for D.E.M. Productions / Producer

D.E.M PRODUCTIONS consists of Producer Ramin Sabi and Associate Producer & General Manager Ceri Lothian. D.E.M is a leading Off-West End Producer and General Manager, winner of the 2016 Off-West End Award for Best Producer. Productions include: Spring Awakening (Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester); Working (Southwark Playhouse, Nominated for the WhatsOnStage Award for “Best Off West End Production” – 2018); World premieres of Four Play, Clickbait, Sense of an Ending (Theatre503); Donkey Heart directed by Nina Raine (Trafalgar Studios); Karagula by Philip Ridley (Soho Theatre @ The Styx, Nominated for 9 Off West End Awards); TORCH by Phoebe Eclair-Powell (Underbelly, Edinburgh Fringe); the first London revivals of Piranha Heights by Philip Ridley (Old Red Lion); A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner; Pulitzer Prize-winner How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel (Southwark Playhouse). General Management work: The Wild Party (The Other Palace) and The Rink (Southwark Playhouse). CERI LOTHIAN started as Assistant Producer at Theatre503, where credits include World Premieres of And Then Come The Nightjars by Bea Roberts (National Tour 2016), and Rotterdam by Jon Brittain (Olivier Award Winner 2017). Outside of D.E.M she is Producer for theatre company Worst Absurd (@WorstAbsurd), and has also produced new comedy writing and scratch nights around London and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. RAMIN SABI has been a co-producer on Gypsy (Savoy Theatre, 4 Olivier Awards); The Ferryman (Jacobs Theatre, Broadway); Company (Gielgud Theatre); Nativity (World Premiere, No.1 Tour); Heisenberg (Wyndham’s Theatre); Annie (No.1 Tour, Piccadilly Theatre & Toronto); Show Boat (New London Theatre) as well as a number of films.

Anna Lambert / Stage Manager

In 2014,  Anna graduated from Birmingham School of Acting with a BA(Hons) degree in Stage Management. She has previously worked on Dustat Trafalgar Studios in 2018 and on another of Milly Thomas’ plays, Brutal Cessation, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2016. Anna enjoys working on shows at, or from, the Edinburgh Festival
- most notably on The Thinking Drinkers shows as production and technical stage manager. She has also worked on various shows at the Birmingham REP, from the translated French comedy What’s In A Name? to Penguins, a dance show for children, and many of their festivals & events with their Young REP companies. She has recently returned to her work at her alma mater as a deputy stage manager for Mary Stuart Harper Regan with the MFA Acting course.

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