From Homeless Teen to Award-Winning Playwright: Yorkshire Writer Returns Home with Powerful New Play

Yorkshire-born playwright Charlaina Thompson returns to the UK this summer with her award-winning production Dust, a deeply personal story inspired by mining communities, her own remarkable journey from childhood trauma to international success, and a family legacy rooted in the coalfields.

For Charlaina Thompson, bringing Dust to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is far more than a theatrical milestone.

The former Don Valley High School student, who spent her childhood in Doncaster, returns to the UK alongside Wakefield actor Craig McArdle to present the award-winning production after two sold-out Australian seasons and widespread critical acclaim.

Yet Charlaina’s own story is every bit as extraordinary as the play she has written.

At just 12 years old, Charlaina lost her mother to cancer. Her world changed overnight. She entered the foster care system before eventually becoming homeless at the age of 18, finding herself living on the streets of Doncaster with nowhere to turn.

“It felt like I’d lost everything,” she says. “Not just my mum, but my sense of belonging.”

It was Barnardo’s that changed the course of her life.

The charity provided food, clothing, shelter and the support she needed to rebuild her future. With their encouragement, Charlaina returned to education, studied creative writing and the performing arts, eventually becoming a drama teacher before emigrating to Australia to begin a new chapter.

“I thought moving to Australia would allow me to leave the past behind,” she says. “But sometimes your past has a way of finding you.”

That moment came in 2023, when Charlaina returned to Yorkshire for the funeral of a beloved aunt. The visit unexpectedly sparked a journey into her family’s history that would transform both her life and her writing.

Research into her ancestry uncovered an extraordinary mining legacy.

Her great-grandfather, Matthew Thompson, was awarded the Edward Medal for exceptional bravery after risking his own life to rescue a fellow miner during the 1940 Askern Main Colliery rescue. He later became a Justice of the Peace, an Alderman of the West Riding County Council and was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in recognition of his public service.

Charlaina also discovered generations of her family had dedicated their lives to the Yorkshire coalfields. Her great-grandfather devoted more than five decades to the National Coal Board and was a JP campaigning passionately for miners’ welfare and safety. Her grandfather and extended family also worked in the local mines. 

Those discoveries became the emotional foundation of Dust.

Performed by Wakefield actor Craig McArdle, whose own grandfather narrowly survived the 1973 Lofthouse Colliery disaster, Dust blends historical truth, lived experience and verbatim stories from Yorkshire mining families into a moving portrait of community, resilience and love.

Rather than focusing solely on tragedy, the production celebrates the humour, warmth and resilience that defined generations of mining families in a Yorkshire town. 

“Dust at its heart, a love story,” Charlaina says. “It’s about home, family, heritage and the people who built communities through hard work and sacrifice. It’s about ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives.”

Charlaina’s dream is to bring Dust to Yorkshire playhouses ‘If that happens it will be an emotional full-circle moment”. 

“The little girl who once believed she’d lost her family forever has discovered she was part of something much bigger,” she says. “I’ve reconnected with my roots, my heritage and a legacy and I could not be more proud of what made me who I am today.”

“Bringing Dust home feels incredibly special. It’s proof that even after unimaginable darkness, it is possible to rediscover where you belong.”

As Charlaina returns to the UK, there is one person she hopes this story might reach.

More than three decades ago, a Barnardo’s support worker named Les helped a frightened young woman who had nowhere to go. Charlaina has never forgotten his kindness.

“I’ve often wondered what happened to Les,” she says. “He came into my life at the moment I needed someone most. He gave me hope when I had none and helped me believe there was still a future worth fighting for.”

“If this story reaches him, I’d simply love the chance to say thank you.”

Following its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at Pleasance, Charlaina hopes to bring Dust to audiences across Yorkshire, returning the story to the communities that inspired it and honouring the miners and families whose resilience continues to shape the region today.

More information and tickets here: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/dust