Lewisham. A Pupil Referral Unit.

Two friends – Desmond and Wiggy – are truanting their lessons. To distract themselves from their limited prospects post-education, they bring to life a series of daydreams, which range from the naïve and fantastical to the bleakly familiar.

When Wiggy tells Desmond of the sinister power of the sea to consume ‘rotters’ like themselves, Desmond must use his strategies of escapism to combat his fear of the upcoming school trip to Southend beach. In one afternoon, the boys’ friendship fluctuates chaotically amidst the tides of jealousy, fantasy, alienation and interdependence.

Desmond’s Scared of the Smoking Sea premieres at The Jack Studio Theatre and marks the first collaboration between award-winning writer Tommy Sissons and acclaimed actor Aoife Scott in her solo directorial debut.

“Only their skeletons wash up on the shore. That’s what happens to wrong’uns in the sea. The way you’re behaving, you’d better watch out, Desmond.”

Tommy Sissons (playwright) is a novelist, poet, educator, and dramatist based in London. His debut polemic ‘A Small Man’s England’ was published by Repeater Books in 2021 and his debut novel ‘Cautious, A Boat Adrift’ was published in July 2023. He has given talks on his work at the University of Chicago, Sheffield Hallam University and the V&A Museum.

Aoife Scott (director) is a working-class director, facilitator, and actor from the North-East of England. She is a  graduate of the National Youth Theatre and has recently had her West End debut in Desire/Up All Night. Aoife obtained her first directing credit under the guidance of director Paul Roseby OBE, for Town Planning in the Apocalypse.