Dumping

The only gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, snot-inducing breakups we hear about are the romantic ones. But what relationship is more intimate, more enduring, more important than the one with your best friend? And what happens when it crumbles?

Dumping is a brand new play by Alex Summer Milne coming to The Cockpit this April for three exclusive preview shows.

Bea is appalled at how conventional Alana has become and wants to 'untether' herself so she can advance on her spiritual journey. But when she initiates a 'divorce', Alana is outraged. Why can't Bea just ghost her like a normal person? And why should Alana feel guilty for becoming a mother? 'We can't all be Carol Vorderman'. Their incessant bickering and clashing ideas make The Talk tricky... but not as agonising as deciding who will get custody of the Fendi bag they've been passing back and forth for a decade.

A play about navigating the changes between girlhood and womanhood. About needing people. About facing ourselves. It asks, what are friends for?

‘Absolute f***ing dynamite’
‘Timely, beautifully written, beautifully performed’
‘Like two halves of my brain having a row’
‘Razor sharp. Had me laughing and crying.’ 
- Audience reactions at a scratch performance

Be among the first to see this breakout show by emerging writer-director Alex Summer Milne, recently named one of Hachette’s ‘fiction stars of the future’ with ‘a gift for writing comedy’ (Paul Vale of The Stage). Her previous theatre work has been hailed as ‘hilarious and thought-provoking', ‘enchanting’, and ‘an absolute treat to watch’.

Dumping first came to The Cockpit as part of our scratch night Theatre In The Pound. Now it's back as part of Theatre Maker, our programme that supports early career development.

Follow us on Instagram @dumping_play.

THE TEAM

Writer and Director:
Alex Summer Milne
Alex (she/her) is a playwright, director and author based in London. She holds a first class degree in English and Creative Writing from Royal Holloway University of London, where she was awarded the Barbara Raw Scholarship for English. Last year, she was a winner of the Hachette x David Higham Associates 'Grow Your Story' competition for her debut novel-in-progress, The Meow Woman, which she is currently developing under their mentorship. Her short story, 'Fill Me Up', was runner up in the Writing District Prize 2023, and was praised as a 'one-of-a-kind story filled with provocative imagery, and biting social commentary', meanwhile her first play, MEGA (Seven Dials Playhouse, Stockwell Playhouse), was a finalist in the Stockwell Playhouse One Act Competition, where Alex was awarded Highly Commended Author. She also exercises her love of storytelling working for a TV and film literary scout.

Starring:
Amelia O'Loughlin as Alana
Amelia (she/her) is a British-Irish actress based in London whose work spans stage and screen. She started on stage, as a child, in ballet shoes, and has since performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and across Europe and the U.S. with the English Theatre Company of Barcelona, the Susan Batson Studio of New York and the Beverly Hills Playhouse in Los Angeles. She holds a first class degree from the University of Leeds. Recent credits in TV & Film include Everything Now (Netflix), Creation Stories (Sky), SAS Rogue Heroes S1 (BBC One), The Holloways (Lucifer Productions). Amelia works behind the camera as a screenwriter and filmmaker, and is currently in development with three feature films led by BAFTA and Oscar nominated teams. In 2020, she founded award-winning production company Freida Films. She's since co-produced across the UK and Europe in delivering award-winning short films - bagging her a spot on the shortlist for 30 Forbes 30.

Mollie Semple as Bea
Mollie (she/her) is an actor and writer from Buckinghamshire. She graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2019 with a degree in English, and furthered her training at All In Actors, graduating in 2021. Mollie's work spans stage and screen, with theatre credits including Persephone (Brighton Fringe) and Loneliness and Other Adventures (Edinburgh Fringe), both of which she wrote and starred in. Her screen credits include Apple TV's Silo (2023) and the short film, Fugue (2022). She is currently developing her solo play, Good For Her!

Assistant Director and Stage Manager:
Rachel Duncan
Rachel (they/she) is a Scottish actor based in London and 2024 graduate of London School of Musical Theatre. Since graduating they have worked as a director on Fruitcake Productions’ Scratch Nights and starred in Intimacies at Libra Cafe Theatre as an Actor/Director. Whilst training they played a gender-bending Pirelli in Sweeney Todd (Bridewell Theatre) and were assistant director to Fenton Gray for their production of Charles Miller’s RSVP ASAP. Fringe credits include Morticia Addams in The Addams Family (Captivate Theatre), ensemble in Sunshine on Leith (Captivate Theatre) and the producer of One Week In Magaluf in 2022 and 2023 with their company, ERA Productions. Currently, they are producing Frozen Love and Nearlyweds The Musical for this Edinburgh Fringe season, and are collaborating on two new London based projects as their director.

LX and Sound Technician:
Emma Langan
Emma (she/her) is a technician and stage manager working across London West-End venues and UK Fringe Festivals. Previous production/venue credits include; Pop Off, Michelangelo (Edinburgh Fringe), Diva: Live From Hell (Edinburgh Fringe), Don't Let me Die Before Sunday (at Bread and Roses Theatre, Clapham), Rotunda Theatre (Brighton Fringe) & Southwark Playhouse.

Tuesday 1 April - 7:00pm
Wednesday 2 April - 2:30pm and 7:00pm