Before I'm Dead

VAULT CREATIVE ARTS PLAYWRITING AWARD 2026 WINNER - BEFORE I’M DEAD BY JAMES RUSHBROOKE

“I’m not going to die happy, I’m going to die really fucking angry and I want people on Radio 4 to hear all about it.”

Zara is dying. But she’s not about to go out without making some noise.

At seventeen, with a terminal diagnosis and a very limited tolerance for nonsense, she has one final project: record her own eulogy, in her own words, before her brain tumour makes that impossible. Funny, angry, and absolutely unwilling to be reduced to her illness, Zara is the last person who needs saving.

Stuart thinks he’s there to help. He’s good at helping - he’s built a career out of it, a quiet, careful life of service that keeps his own grief at a comfortable distance. But Zara doesn’t need managing. She needs witnessing. And that’s something Stuart has never quite learned to do.

Before I’m Dead is a tender two-hander that asks what it really means to see another human being: not the polished performance they present to the world, but the real, inconvenient, luminous truth of them. It shows us that, surprising as they may be, connections are the greatest form of bravery in the face of mortality.

“SUPERB ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – LondonTheatre1
“TOUCHING⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – All Edinburgh Theatre
“ENCHANTING⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – LostInTheatreland
“PERFECT ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – TheatreWeekly
“EXCELLENT⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️” – Everything Theatre

Fresh from their Offie-winning, five-star, sell-out run of The Lost Library of Leake Street, VAULT Creative Arts are thrilled to present this year’s VCA Playwriting Award Winner Before I’m Dead by James Rushbrooke, a full-hearted show that asks what it is to truly see and be seen.

Address: The Glitch, 134 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7AE
Preview Dates: Monday 25th May - Wednesday 27th May
Press Night: Thursday 28th May
Performance Dates: Friday 29th May - Sunday 21st June
Performance Times: 19:00 everyday except Tuesdays. 14:00 on Thursdays and Saturdays
Price: £15/£12.50

Please note, this play contains discussion of death, cancer, domestic violence, suicide, and strong language. Recommended for ages 12+. 

Cast 

ZARA RUSSELL Myla Carmen

STUART HARRISON Pete Ashmore

Crew

Director: Oli Savage

Assistant Director: Nat Neri

Producer: Ellie Shaw

Lighting Designer: TBA

Writer: James Rushbrooke

About the Writer:

James Rushbrooke is a writer based in London, originally from the South West. His debut full length play Tomcat won the 2015 Papatango Prize. His favoured writing style is ‘domestic-dystopia’, high concept ideas explored through interpersonal relationships. When not writing plays and screenplays, he delivers writing workshops for children and adults via the Papatango ‘Go Write’ scheme, works at the sharp end of law in a secure mental health facility and collect first edition books. He is proudly addicted to his Audible and kindle.