Ian Hallard's Horse-Play to premiere at Riverside Studios

Ian Hallard's new comedy Horse-Play will be staged at Riverside Studios this summer.

Directed by Andrew Beckett, with set and costume design by David Shields and casting by Pearson Casting, the piece is said to "explore the kinkier side of life".

It follows two married men who decide to spice up their love lives by booking an evening at a dungeon with a male escort.

See the show in rehearsals:

Hallard said today: "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…"

The show will run at Riverside Studios from 30 August to 24 September.