'St. Ives' by D.A. Nixon

ST. IVES is a darkly funny play investigating ideas of dissent and identity in the West Country post-Brexit.

Cornwall is one of the most deprived areas in Western Europe. The EU is currently committed to investing £2.5bn in countywide regeneration projects up to 2020. This funding will be lost after Brexit, yet 56.5% of the county’s electorate voted to leave. A large portion of this faltering economy is predicated on tourism. But the second home property market means the majority of young locals are priced out of owning, or even renting, their own home.

The story follows two young locals, Jago and Kat, facing a dubious eviction from their house in St. Ives. When the out-of-town owner's wife dies, he decides to sell the cottage and Jago and Kat risk losing one of the few remaining places they can afford to rent in their home town. They’re forced to confront why staying in St. Ives, why staying in Cornwall, is so important to them. The play asks what ties us to the place we’re from? And what that place might look like outside of the EU?

DA NIXON is a playwright from South East London. His debut full-length play LOOK ME IN THE EYE WHEN WE’RE DANCING won the inaugural WiT Award in 2017, and received a rehearsed reading at Soho Theatre produced by Out of Joint earlier this year. Previously, his work has been performed, read and/or developed at theatres including the Lyric Hammersmith, the Criterion, the Arcola, Theatre 503 and the Southwark Playhouse. He has also been shortlisted for the Old Vic 12, the Theatre 503 Five, the Write Now Prize and the Kevin Elyot Award.