WHEN ATLAS MET TANTALUS
ABOUT THE SHOW
1897. A parlour in Victorian London. Two men trapped together, facing a secret that will change their lives forever
James and Edwin are worlds apart. But when they find themselves unexpectedly entwined by a twist of fate, they must face their similarities and the secrets they keep – from each other, and from themselves.
The clock of history is ticking.
Can we hold everything we love on our shoulders? When Atlas Met Tantalus is a taut, poignant new work highlighting issues of queer identity, community, public outing and the way that history shapes our present, within a witty and engaging one-hour drama.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Curtain Call Reviews
Meet the Team
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Lucas Livesey
James Cartwright
Theatre includes: Tommy on Top, Ten Times Table (UK Tour) Making Porn, Bitches Trilogy, Party and The Gay Naked Play (Above The Stag); The Odd Couple, Murder in Company, Round and Round The Garden (Manor Pavillion Theatre); Hobson’s Choice (Pomegranate Theatre); You Never Can Tell (National Tour); Next Lesson (Pleasance Theatre); Dial M For Murder (Sarah Thorne Theatre); John Bull’s Other Island (UK Tour); Romeo and Juliet & Love’s Labour’s Lost (Old Red Lion); Shylock’s Revenge (Attic Theatre)
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Simon Christian
Edwin Scott
Simon Christian trained at the Guildford School of Acting. He has since appeared in theatre productions such as Spring Awakening (Vienna’s English Theatre), Mayakovsky (Rich Mix) and Queers (Tower Theatre) among others. Simon has also appeared in several films and TV productions including Sarah’s War, Clara Immerwahr, Lost: Women Spies and more.
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Tiff Milner
Writer/director
Owner of Great Egg Theatre, Tiff is a nonbinary queer theatremaker originally from Wakefield, Yorkshire who now lives and works in London. They have created both le Monocle and When Atlas Met Tantalus with Great Egg Theatre.
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Emily Layton
Director
Emily has been working as a writer, director, and dramaturg since 2015. She debuted her first show, Two Thirds, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and joined the Old Vic, New Voices writing scheme in 2015. Since then she has directed another critically-acclaimed Edinburgh run, Partial Nudity, and has worked with a range of fantastic theatre companies.
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Emma Hollows
Costume Designer
Emma is a Costume Designer and Supervisor with a career spanning the UK and internationally including the West End, Broadway and Sydney Opera House. Recent productions include Carmen (Royal Opera House), Jersey Boys and The Tina Turner Musical (West End), and Back to the Future (Broadway). Upcoming productions include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (West End) and Curlew River (Britten Pears Arts). She trained at Cambridge University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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Caitlin MacGregor
Lighting Designer
Caitlin MacGregor is an up and coming lighting designer, currently studying towards her BA at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her credits include Sticks and Stones (RADA, as Assistant Lighting Designer), Winter Cabaret hosted by Imelda Staunton (RADA, as Lighting Designer). When Atlas Met Tantalus marks her professional debut.
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Fae Hochgemuth
Stage Manager
Fae is a London-based stage manager from Amsterdam. She trained at the MBO Theaterschool Rotterdam and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her credits include: Blizzard (Soho Theatre), Hide and Seek (Park theatre), The Beautiful Future is Coming (Jermyn St Theatre), Transgression (White Bear Theatre), Influence (Collective Theatre), Candy (Park Theatre), Paper Cut (Park Theatre)
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Mischa Alexander
Producer
Mischa is a freelance producer and marketing manager. His credits include Blizzard (Soho Theatre & 59E59), My Name Is Rachel Corrie (The Old Red Lion), Dickless (Riverside Studios), Beasts: Why Girls Shouldn’t Fear The Dark (Zoo Playground), and SUS (Park Theatre). He graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2022.
From Tiff Milner (writer/director)
When Atlas Met Tantalus is what happens when opposites collide. Two men with different worldviews, personalities and goals meet in a confined space and are forced to reconcile themselves and each other. Conflict isn’t just what makes for great character and storytelling, it’s what we find in our real lives every day. We must decide between reaching for what we want and having to let go of everything we’re upholding. It’s the shoulders upon which this play rests, as well as the Great Egg flavour of discussing community, modern-day queer issues and our LGBTQ+ history.
I was absolutely swallowed whole by writing Atlas and in the many months that I spent writing, revising and getting feedback, I never lost my love for the two characters whose parlour I was sharing. Edwin and James are passionate, frustrating, witty, martyred, hopeless, brilliant, loving souls in maddeningly equal measures and bringing their world to life has been an honour and a joy. I find myself often caught up thinking about those queer individuals in history whose stories we do not – and may never – hear. It’s the kind of story worth telling.
Atlas is designed to challenge; there are no easy answers to difficult questions. We deal with the notions of modern public, celebrity ‘outing’ on social media and beyond, we talk about what it is to be Proud (in the capital P sense of the word) and how we can be individuals in a collective. But at its core, Atlas is about the power of finding support in our communities and the important message that we are never alone in our queerness, no matter if we are out or in the closet. It means a lot to us that this is reflected in the incredible team of queer creatives and cast that are making this show possible (and brilliant!) with their talents.
We hope to see you at the show and welcome you to our parlour…