Milk Presents (theatre company)

Milk Presents is an LGBTQIA+ theatre company based in Derby, United Kingdom.

The theatre company is an associate company of Derby Theatre and the Bush Theatre.^[1][2][3] In addition to producing theatrical works, the company also creates films, audio-plays, and photography, and organizes community residencies, workshops, club nights, symposiums, book groups, etc. Milk Presents tours its productions both nationally and globally.^[1][4]

Milk Presents was founded in 2010 by Leo Skilbeck, Ruby Glaskin, and Adam Robertson after they graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.^[5][1]

The company's very first theatre show was 454 Grams in 2010, a postdramatic retelling of Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice.^[6][7] Next, the company became an associate company of The Point in Eastleigh in 2011 and produced its first full-length shows: Bluebeard: A Fairytale for Adults and A Real Man’s Guide To Sainthood.^[5][8][9] Bluebeard: A Fairytale for Adults was based on Charles Perrault’s French folktale Bluebeard.^[10] A Real Man’s Guide To Sainthood was powered by bikes and used projectors, and was a retelling of the story of Saint George.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]}

It then produced Milk Presents: Self Service (2013 - 2014), which explored the meaning of "queer" with original music, animations, and comedy.^[17][18][19] The company then became an associate company of Derby Theatre in 2015.^[9] At Derby Theatre, the company produced JOAN^[20][21] and BULLISH. JOAN portrayed the story of Joan of Arc and was performed by LJ Parkinson.^[22][23] It was directed and written by Lucy J. Skilbeck.^[24] BULLISH was a retelling of the Minotaur myth.^[25][26][27] It was launched at the Camden People’s Theatre, who commissioned the production alongside the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.^{[28][29][30][31][26]} Formerly named BODIY, BULLISH was the Camden People's Theatre's first Home Run commission after an extensive period of selection process.^[32][33]

Milk Presents then became an associate company of the Bush Theatre (2016-17).^[9] Around the same time in April 2017, the company was commissioned to host a "Bromance Cabaret" at the Wellcome Collection as part of their "Macho?" late-night event.^{[34][35][36][37][38]}

In August 2021, Milk Presents and Derby Theatre premiered co-production Marty and the Party, a show for young audiences.^[39][40][41]

In December 2021, in partnership with Derby Theatre, the company launched a new audio cabaret, The Pervert’s Podcast.^[42] This audio cabaret is presented by Milk Presents and co-produced by She Wants A Dog, a production company formed by a partnership between arts producers Pippa Frith and Kate Chapman that was focused on commissioning artists and producing creative work for podcasts.^{[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]}

In 2023, Milk Presents co-produced Modest with theatre company Middle Child.^{[52][53][54][55]}

The theatre company's production JOAN won the Scotsman Fringe First Award, The Stage Award, and Spirit of the Fringe Award at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.^{[56][3][23][57]} The production also won the Off West End Award in 2018.^[25][58]

Milk Presents also organizes Summer Summit, a paid weekend-long retreat for early-career LGBTQIA+ artists.^[59][60][61]

• Official website