We are delighted that “DUST,” our co-production with Half Moon Theatre, is the Offiettes winner for 2022, in the category theatre for children aged 5-11. The Offiettes recognise productions for young people that were presented live or online during 2021. They form part of the Offies, which acknowledge the excellence of shows from independent, alternative and fringe theatre. We feel honoured to be recognised amongst all the other amazing nominees.  

Completed on the day before we went into lockdown, DUST has come a long way, adapting from a live performance to a professionally filmed and edited digital production. Written by acclaimed award-winning children’s author Laura Dockrill (Darcy Burdock book series and Big Bones), DUST used puppetry and poetry to explore a heartfelt story about love, loss, identity, and memory. With haunting music by Hugo White of The Maccabees, this striking and emotional play was a joyous and timely reminder about just how playful the world can be. The live-recorded play also included closed captioning for d/Deaf and hard of hearing audiences and was also available with British Sign Language. 

Liz O’Neill, Z-arts’ Artistic Director and Chief Executive said:  “DUST marked a long-standing shared vision between Half Moon Theatre and Z-arts.  It was a delight to work on it together and even more delightful to have gained this recognition. The fact that most of the ‘tour’ ended up being online, actually became a bonus, as the show was captured so beautifully and it meant even more people could enjoy it”. 

This award is great recognition of the importance of our digital offer during lockdown. We were committed to offering a selection of live-recorded productions for our children and families to stream online from the comfort of their home.  

Dust is available to watch via Half Moon Theatre’s On Demand service, which allows you to watch a show for £7 whenever you want, and as many times as you like for 48 hours.