Horse-Play, a new comedy by Ian Hallard will premiere this autumn at Riverside Studios.
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”.
Horse-Play follows two married men who decide to spice up their love lives by booking an evening at a dungeon with a male escort.
Ian Hallard says: “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.”
As an actor Hallard has appeared in The Boys in the Band (Park Theatre/Vaudeville Theatre), The Vote (Donmar Warehouse), Scenes from an Execution & Great Britain (National Theatre), Closer To Heaven (Above The Stag) and Adventurous (Jermyn Street Theatre).
Ian Hallard is married to Mark Gatiss.
Full casting and creative team to be announced.
Horse-Play will run from 30 August 2022 until 24 September 2022 at Riverside Studios, London.
