About

Rare chance to see Offie-award-winning play perfomed by theatre collective, Drama on the Rise.

CAN FIVE YOUNG WOMEN KEEP THEIR DREAMS ALIVE?
OR WILL EVERYTHING TURN TO ASHES?​​

​1911. New York City is flooded with immigrants from all over Europe hoping for a new life. The Triangle Shirtwaist factory is one of the most coveted places to work. Some say that in America the streets are paved with gold, full of wealth and opportunities, but is this true for five young factory workers?

​Based on a true event, taking place over the course of one Saturday in March, Paved with Gold and Ashes explores what it means to be a woman and an immigrant, each young woman daydreaming about the life she wishes to live once her promise of the American dream has been fulfilled. But battling poverty, capitalism, and unfair working conditions, their dreams may just turn to ashes.

"Thurston's agonising and attentive descriptions of the factory fire is one of the most effective pieces of dramatic writing I have ever seen." -Skot Wilson for Broadway Baby

"Paved with Gold and Ashes is a masterfully crafted piece which allows a glimpse into the very real running themes of classism, racism, and sexism. It's powerful in delivery, clear in intent, and has the potential to truly pack-a-punch." -Everything Theatre

CAST

Bridget Ochocka as Lucia

Hope Taylor Marsh as Rosaria

Jules Coyle as Ida

Eliza Harrison as Annie

Charlotte Scobie as Rose

Author Julia Thurston is a Canadian-born American actor and award-winning playwright. She is based in London, England on the Global Talent Visa. ​

​Raised in New York City, she got her start as both an actor and a writer by creating and performing original work with the MCC Youth Company. She is a 2018 graduate of the BA (Hons.) Acting program at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) and is a 2022 graduate with a 1st-class MA in Acting from the Guildford School of Acting.

Director Maisie Johnson graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA Hons in English Literature. Her early exposure to theatre began at Corpus Christi College Chapel, Cambridge, where she directed her first play, Twelfth Night, and later received critical praise for her adaptation of The Duchess of Malfi. She has since directed an international tour of Macbeth and is working as a theatre director and intimacy coordinator in London.

The play is performed in association with the free exhibition How We Lost America currently showing in the bookstore, created by Aurora Metro Arts and Media and financially supported by Heritage Lottery Fund.