I think I can feel the world turning a little. It feels like it's just grinding to a halt.

Mike is a 16-year-old with a bully of a brother and a mum who doesn’t speak. Sarah is a weed-smoking teen who can’t wait to get out of their dead-end town. One hot summer their lives collide in a blur of hormones, loneliness and dreaming as they discover that growing up is just as confusing as they say.

Funny, poignant and sharply reminiscent of the joy, pain and confusion of growing up, Rails explores what it means to feel lonely in a forgotten and isolated corner of the world. This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at Theatre By the Lake in Keswick in May 2018.

Bleakly beautiful… A compelling tale of rural life * Lyn Garnder, Guardian (on Gundog) *
A beautiful and truthful thing * WhatsOnStage (on Gundog) *
Raw, bleak and humane * Stage (on Gundog) *

Simon Longman grew up in the West Midlands. He studied Drama and Theatre Studies in Manchester before moving to London. He has had work performed at the Arcola Theatre and the Lost Theatre and is currently part of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme. He won the 2014 Channel 4 Playwrights Scheme (formerly the Pearson Playwrights' Scheme), and is currently writer in residence at Pentabus Theatre Company. Milked premiered in November 2013 in a production by Pentabus. His first play, Milked, was published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama in 2015.