Milly Thomas's CLICKBAIT to Play Theatre503 This Winter

CLICKBAIT is a darkly comic new play about society's attitude to porn and the women who make it for themselves. From the exciting all female writer/director team behind A First World Problem (Milly Thomas and Holly Race Roughan) comes this blistering study of how pornography is changing women's relationship to sex in the 21st Century.

The production, written by Milly Thomas, plays Theatre503, The Latchmere , 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW, Tuesday 19th January - Saturday 13th February 2016. Press Night: Friday 22nd January, 7.45pm.

The play follows Nicola who, threatened with the release of an amateur sex video, makes a snap decision to post it online herself. What began as a drunken night in a dirty club ends with a unique business opportunity for Nicola and her two sisters as they start a network of amateur porn video 'booths'. But where there is demand there must be supply and, as lines become blurred, public opinion begins to turn against the trio.

CLICKBAIT explores the line between sexual empowerment and sexual exploitation while addressing the muddled logic of what feminism actually means. What is the new normal once you've thrown away the rulebook? When does sexual freedom veer out of control?

Thomas' first full-length play A First World Problem was staged at Theatre503 in July 2014 to sold-out audiences and great acclaim. While A First World Problem explored how young women experience sex for the first time in the modern world, CLICKBAIT looks at what happens when they grow up and want to take control of their sex lives.

Milly Thomas comments, "I was fascinated by the disconnect between the world of porn - a world where women don't say 'no' - and the real world, where women who are enjoying sex or sexual empowerment are often viewed as threatening, or unfeminine. On the flip side, we also wanted to show how women themselves can blur the line between empowerment and exploitation in the sex industry. It feels like a very timely production to be making both as young women and as the next generation of theatre makers!"

CLICKBAIT is the first of two plays at Theatre503 which explore the sexual dynamics of twenty- somethings in the 21st century. The second show will be Four Play, the first full-length play by the acclaimed musical theatre writer, Jake Brunger (Adrian Mole the Musical - Four Stars - The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph), which looks at the issues of fidelity surrounding four young gay men.

IF YOU GO:

CLICKBAIT by Milly Thomas

Tuesday 19th January - Saturday 13th February 2016
Tuesday to Saturday, 7.45pm
Sunday, 5pm

Ages 12+

At Theatre503, The Latchmere, 503 Battersea Park Road, London SW11 3BW, theatre503.com

Directions: Theatre503 is located on above the Latchemere Pub on the corner of Latchmere Road and Battersea Park Road. The nearest underground stations are Sloane Square (on the Bakerloo and Northern lines then bus 319), South Kensington (on the Bakerloo, Northern, Circle and District lines) then bus 49 or 345, and Vauxhall (on the Northern and Piccadilly lines) then bus 34. The nearest rail station is Clapham Junction.

Tickets are available priced £15 (£12 concessions)
Pay What You Can Sundays
Buy a 'season ticket' to see CLICKBAIT and Four Play for just £25 with the code COMINGTWICE
Available from Theatre503 Box Office and theatre503.com, 020 7978 7040.

Milly Thomas graduated from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2014. Her first full-length play A First World Problem (????? West End Wilma, ???? The Upcoming) was staged at Theatre503 in July 2014 to sold-out audiences. Her second full-length play, Piggies, was commissioned and performed at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She is part of the Soho Theatre Young Writer's Lab and Headstart, the playwrights on attachment to Headlong Theatre Company. She works in writers' rooms for Pure Grass Films and Balloon Entertainment and has written for Star (Balloon Entertainment) and Sawney (Pure Grass Films Ltd).

Holly trained in Theatre Directing at Birkbeck College, graduating with Distinction. She was Assistant Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Staff Director at the National Theatre and has just been taken on as Associate Director for People, Places and Things (National Theatre and Headlong). Credits as a director include Eye of a Needle (Southwark Playhouse, ???? The Times, The Independent, Time Out); A First World Problem (Theatre 503); Pages From My Songbook (Royal Exchange Studio, Manchester, Nominated for Best Studio Performance - Manchester Theatre Awards); Believers Anonymous (Rosemary Branch, ????Time Out: Critics Choice); Waiting For Alice (Pleasance Courtyard, ????The Scotsman); After the War (Cambridge ADC - Winner of the IUDF Award). AS Assistant Director: The Shoemaker's Holiday (RSC), Hotel (National Theatre), The Pass (Royal Court), Three Birds (Bush Theatre/Royal Exchange), The Birthday Party, A Doll's House, Rat's Tales and The Country Wife (Royal Exchange). She directed the final year showcase production for Central School of Speech & Drama.

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