Helena, Tim, Kate, Ben, Danny, You; Singers.

Better tonight; I'm going to slow dance with my man, in case he falls off a cliff tomorrow.

Dyson House in South Carolina was the home of Tom and Joseph, a young couple who grew up together in a gossamer cloud full of grazing unicorns. They lived happily together; Joseph worked the land and Tom wrote about, mapped and led, walking tours in America and Europe. Tom wrote home every day when he was traveling but Joseph felt, if he isn’t here, he doesn’t exist.

 

One night, Tom wrote home that he would be leading a group across a difficult traverse in the Appalachian wilderness the following morning, that the rusty hills reminded him of Joseph's ruddy cheeks, the swaying trees of his wild hair after a days work, and the forest floor was comfortable as laying his head on Joseph's belly. Tom fell off a cliff the following day. Joseph's story continues on, including, scandalously, an affair with an Italian count, though that is for another time.

 

Richard and Martin moving south from New York City in 1973, discovered and restored Dyson House in honour of Tom and Joseph's relationship. They built a museum and house for themselves on the land, both of which, sadly burnt down in 1975. Richard and Martin perished in the inferno. The storyboards, images and objects seen here today are the final remains of their amateur museum. Supposition has it that Martin was in talks with MGM studios to make a film of the lives of Tom and Joseph.

 

Though Martin has been pronounced dead by the coroner (and nor has he been sighted since 1975), his remains were not, mysteriously, found in the ashes of Dyson House.