Horse-Play – a new comedy by Ian Hallard exploring the kinkier side of life – will premiere this autumn at Riverside Studios, running from 30 August-24 September.

The piece is directed by Andrew Beckett, with set and costume design by David Shields, with the full cast and creative team to be announced shortly.

After ten years of married life, Tom and Tim decide to spice up their sex life by booking an evening in a dungeon with a gorgeous male escort.

Meanwhile, crime-busting superhero, the Stallion, and his intrepid side-kick, Butterfly, have been lured to the secret lair of their arch-nemesis: the dastardly Villainor.

But what connects these two seemingly random events?

One thing’s for sure: a bump on the head and a faulty door lock result in a night none of them will ever forget - for all the wrong reasons! 

Ian Hallard said: “I wrote the first draft of Horse-Play in less than a week during that strange, hot Spring/Summer of 2020. Why it occurred to me, in the middle of the very first lockdown, to write a play about a middle-aged gay couple trapped in a room together with no possible means of escape is a mystery, but there you go! Who knows where our creative ideas truly spring from?

“The two central characters in the play may be a gay couple, but their relationship, and the ups and downs they encounter when they are faced with adversity, are universal.

“I wanted to avoid the stereotype that sees anyone over the age of thirty-five who has a less than conventional side to their sexuality depicted as sleazy, unpleasant or often downright villainous. The characters in Horse-Play certainly have their kinks, but they’re also loving, lovable and - on the whole - pretty well-adjusted.

“More than anything, Horse-Play is fun and it’s silly. If you’ve ever been tempted to spend the evening in a sex dungeon surrounded by handcuffs, bananas, spandex bodysuits, and a big tub of gunge, it may well be just the thing for you…

“As it says on the poster: They’re about to have the ride of their lives. I really hope our audiences will too.”

For more information and to book tickets, please click here.