Life Before the Line is a piece of new writing following the lives of four Jewish teenagers navigating growing up during the 2016-17 rise in antisemitism. Life Before centres on underrepresented voices and champions the diversity within the Jewish community.

Although the events and characters within the play are fictional, one of the main characters, Danny, suffers from cystic fibrosis, a genetically inherited disease that Jewish people can be at a greater risk of.

Danny’s story was influenced by a very special person - his name was Dylan Samuels and he was a boy I went to school with for a couple of years. Dylan was a very bright, courageous and kind person. He was very popular and well-liked as well as a gifted football player. On December 2nd 2015, Dylan passed away after having a lung transplant as part of a CF treatment that had gone wrong.

It is to him and his family that this play is dedicated. All profits from the original run of Life Before were donated to Cystic Fibrosis Trust in Dylans’ memory.

“Dylan was a gorgeous boy and touched the hearts of anyone that ever met him. He was genuine, funny, kind and caring, and an absolute genius at everything he ever did in life. And he lived for life, he never let CF get him down and always soldiered through some of the most challenging times that CF brought to his life. Dylan was signed as a player with Manchester United for 2 years before CF got the better of him. Over 1000 people attended his funeral, including family, friends, nurses from Great Ormond street and members of Manchester United football training team. Dylan never gave up, he always had a fighting spirit and a good dose of hope in his soul …hope that better days were to come"

Dylan’s story was a massive inspiration to raise awareness on cystic fibrosis as well as its prevalence along with other genetic diseases within the Jewish community. Danny as a character is not supposed to be him or represent him and his family (they’re from very different backgrounds/ families) however Dylan’s story was hugely important for this show and far far beyond.

A very special thank you to Dylans’ mum, Gail, and family for letting us share Dylan’s story. It is an honour. We want to take a leaf out of Dylan’s book and bring a dose of hope with us this year for better days to come.

Life Before the Line won the CUADC's Edinburgh Fringe fund - we are very lucky to be supported financially in Edinburgh (which is usually a large barrier for young people trying to put on a production at Fringe). We would love to use this opportunity to raise awareness on Cystic Fibrosis and raise donations for Cystic Fibrosis Trust in memory of Dylan Samuels.

We have set up a gofundme so that anyone far and wide can donate to cf trust as well as audiences coming to see us in Edinburgh.

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is the only UK-wide charity dedicated to fighting for a life unlimited by cystic fibrosis (CF) for everyone affected by the condition. Since we started in 1964 we have dedicated ourselves to promoting excellence in research and clinical care, as well as providing practical support and advice to people with CF and their families. Our mission is to create a world where being born with CF no longer means a life-long struggle.