OSD Alumni Mimi Martin and Jessica Whiley present Youth In Flames
One of the best parts about training young creatives is being able to support their early careers and watch on as they begin to find their individual artistic identity outside of the structure and rigour of training.
In recent years, we’ve taken several steps to better support our graduates in the early stages of their careers. From small-scale support like expanding our graduate news updates to larger financial support like our New Initiatives Fund, the Oxford School of Drama is committed to our graduates’ onward development as actors and theatre makers, and we hope to keep growing how we are able to support them.
With this in mind, we were thrilled to hear from 2023 Three Year Course graduates Mimi Martin and Jessica Whiley about the development of their show, Youth In Flames, which is part of the programme for this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Together, Mimi and Jessica have formed Dare Theatre Company, and earlier this year, they were successful in receiving funding from the Keep It Fringe Fund. The Keep It Fringe Fund was set up in 2023 with support from Phoebe Waller-Bridge with the aim of helping to minimise the financial burden of making and showing new work for the Fringe Festival. Youth In Flames, written and performed by Mimi and directed by Jessica, was among the 180 successful recipients out of 850 applications – a wonderful achievement!
Mimi and Jessica contacted us to see if we could provide them with some studio space over a weekend so they could shoot the trailer for Youth In Flames. We had some space available, and it’s always a pleasure to help out where we can, so of course, we agreed!
We asked Mimi to write a little about the project and how it came to be. You can find her words and the finished trailer below. We’re so excited for Mimi and Jessica, and the whole Youth In Flames team. We can’t wait to see what Edinburgh has in store for them!
Be sure to book your Youth In Flames tickets at Zoo Playground in Edinburgh from the 1st to the 24th of August. You can also catch the Edinburgh Preview performances at the Drayton Arms Theatre on the 4th and 25th of July and at the Omnibus Theatre on the 28th of July, both in London.
Youth In Flames
Youth In Flames Trailer
Youth In Flames: Our Story
Youth in Flames began in August 2024 as nothing more than an idea. At the time, it felt almost impossible that it would grow into a full-scale production heading to the Edinburgh Fringe — and yet, here we are.
Over the past year, I’ve been developing the piece in London, writing and testing material with the goal of taking it to the Fringe. I’ve always known I wanted to write about my teenage years in Hong Kong, but I never anticipated that others would be so eager to hear those stories too. As the writing process unfolded, I realised that Youth in Flames had become something more: a love letter to Hong Kong and a remembrance of a time that has been forever lost.
Our core team includes a group of Oxford alumni and dedicated creatives:
- Writer & Performer – Mimi Martin
- Director & Co-producer – Jessica Whiley
- Lighting Designer & Technical Operator – Ciara Moss
- Sound Designer – Guy Martin
- Dramaturg – Paula Kramer
Creating and writing your own work can be an incredibly vulnerable process, so having someone I could trust and collaborate with was essential. Working with Jessica on this project over the past year has been a whirlwind experience. Early on, I asked her to come on board as director because, having been directed by her in The Laramie Project, I knew she had the vision and sensitivity to bring a live-action narrative grounded in truth to life. Our shared background in drama training has created a strong bond between us—a mutual understanding of the techniques we studied together and how to apply them in practice.
After a series of scratch nights and work-in-progress performances, we’ve shaped a piece that we believe will resonate deeply with today’s audiences. Youth in Flames explores identity and the cost of ignorance — themes that feel especially urgent in our current climate.
To offer audiences a glimpse of the world we’ve created, we knew a trailer was essential. Our first instinct was to reach out to filmmaker Jack Shanks, who we collaborated with during our time at drama school, particularly in acting-for-screen classes. After sharing our vision with him, Jack was immediately on board.
With Jack’s creative insight and camera expertise, we worked together to build the storyboard, shot list, and visual tone. That collaboration brought us one step closer to turning our concept into something tangible.
Thanks to the generous support of the Oxford School of Drama, we were granted access to shoot on campus. Arriving early in the morning, we set up and jumped into filming. Just like the play, we aimed to capture an evocative and atmospheric tone. Jack suggested incorporating multimedia projections — and, to Jessica’s delight, we brought out the smoke machine. We filmed key scenes from the play, focusing particularly on the opening monologue that sets our protagonist’s journey in motion. Being back at OSD and collaborating with Jack is always such a joy, it felt like only yesterday that we were all doing our morning yoga in the sun.
After wrapping in the late afternoon, I headed straight to our sound designer’s studio to record the voiceover for the trailer. Guy later edited and mastered it, layering it with his original musical composition to bring the piece to life.
This trailer is the product of a beautiful collaboration between the Youth in Flames team, OSD, and Jack Shanks. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve created, and we hope it offers just a taste of the emotional depth and energy you’ll experience on stage.
Catch Youth in Flames before it heads to Edinburgh Fringe — with preview performances at Omnibus Theatre and Drayton Arms on July 24th, 25th, and 28th.
