Milk Presents is an LGBTQIA+ theatre company based in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Company

The theatre company is an associate company of

Derby Theatre Derby Theatre is a theatre situated in Derby, England, located within the Derbion shopping centre. Formerly known as the Derby Playhouse, it was owned and run by Derby Playhouse Ltd from its opening in 1975 until 2008, when the company ceased ...

. In addition to producing theatrical works, the company also creates films, audio-plays, and photography, and organizes community residencies, workshops, club nights, symposiums, book groups, etc. Milk Presents tours its productions both nationally and globally.

History

Milk Presents was founded in 2010 by Leo Skilbeck, Ruby Glaskin, and Adam Robertson after they graduated from the

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

Productions

The company's very first theatre show was ''454 Grams'' in 2010, a postdramatic retelling of Shakespeare’s play

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

. Next, the company became an associate company of The Point in Eastleigh in 2011 and produced its first full-length shows: ''Bluebeard: A Fairytale for Adults'' and ''A Real Man’s Guide To Sainthood''. ''Bluebeard: A Fairytale for Adults'' was based on

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...

’s French folktale

Bluebeard "Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in '' Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the ...

. ''A Real Man’s Guide To Sainthood'' was powered by bikes and used projectors, and was a retelling of the story of

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

''.'' It then produced ''Milk Presents: Self Service'' (2013 - 2014), which explored the meaning of "queer" with original music, animations, and comedy. The company then became an associate company of Derby Theatre in 2015. At Derby Theatre, the company produced ''

JOAN Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *: Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events * Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multi ...

'' and ''BULLISH''. ''JOAN'' portrayed the story of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the corona ...

and was performed by LJ Parkinson. ''BULLISH'' was a retelling of the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

myth. It was launched at the Camden People’s Theatre, who commissioned the production alongside the Jerwood Charitable Foundation. Formerly named BODIY, ''BULLISH'' was the Camden People’s Theatre's first Home Run commission after an extensive period of selection process. Milk Presents then became an associate company of the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. The Bush Theatre strives to create a sp ...

(2016-17). Around the same time in April 2017, the company was commissioned to host a "Bromance Cabaret" at the

Wellcome Collection Wellcome Collection is a museum and library based at 183 Euston Road, London, displaying a mixture of medical artefacts and original artworks exploring "ideas about the connections between medicine, life and art". Founded in 2007, the Wellcome C ...

as part of their "Macho?" late-night event. In August 2021, Milk Presents and Derby Theatre premiered co-production ''Marty and the Party'', a show for young audiences. In December 2021, in partnership with Derby Theatre, the company launched a new audio cabaret, ''The Pervert’s Podcast''. This audio cabaret is presented by Milk Presents and co-produced by She Wants A Dog, a production company formed by a partnership between arts producers Pippa Frith and Kate Chapman that was focused on commissioning artists and producing creative work for podcasts. In 2023, Milk Presents co-produced '' Modest'' with theatre company Middle Child.

Awards

The theatre company's production ''JOAN'' won the Scotsman Fringe First Award, The Stage Award, and Spirit of the Fringe Award at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The production also won the Off West End Award in 2018.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.milkpresents.com/ LGBTQ theatre companies LGBTQ theatre in the United Kingdom Theatre companies in England Entertainment companies established in 2010 2010 establishments in the United Kingdom LGBTQ arts organizations