Theatre Review: Dust Depicts Life In Purgatory
Looks like this article is a bit old. Be aware that information may have changed since it was published.
Last Updated 17 September 2018
Dust is a one-woman show written and performed by Milly Thomas that hits you with its humour and sensitive depiction of mental illness. It may not be everyone's idea of a night out in the West End, but it's imbued with Thomas's own struggles with depression.
Raw and personal, Dust is also very funny. Thomas plays Alice, a young woman for who life was unbearable. So she's taken her life and is looking forward to what comes next. Friends and family have made her the the centre of attention for now and there's a funeral to plan. Fragments of a life half-lived come together as Thomas holds your attention with her frank mix of details about unsatisfying sex, slutty friends and death. But when it's over, Alice doesn't find what she was expecting.
It's simple production staged with a stainless steel table and mirrors. Piercing the darkness are lighting effects to underscore what feels like a state of purgatory for Alice. A powerful meditation on life and living.
Dust, Trafalgar Studios, Whitehall, SW1A 2DY, £15.50-£35.50. Until 13 October
