Written by Tom Wright and directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair, My Dad’s Gap Year is a wickedly funny, madcap and heartfelt story based on true events.

“Seriously William, you’re eighteen and you’re gay, for Christ’s sake. You’re meant to swim against the tide. A proper gap year is all about traveling. Seeing the world. Popping your cherry. This is our chance to start living. Me and you.”

My Dad’s Gap Year centres on Dave, a dad gripped by a mid-life crisis. To combat this, Dave takes his repressed, gay, teenage son William on a wild adventure to Thailand in the hope of helping him lose his virginity. But in the process, Dave finds a love of his own, in Thai waitress Mae.

Meanwhile, William meets Mathias, a suave and charming stranger who opens his eyes to sex, drugs – and everything in between. But what started as merely a fling becomes a journey of self-discovery for the two, as they learn some hard truths along the way. And then there’s William’s mother Cath, who herself has to learn how to be single again.

Wright’s play stars former EastEnders and Coronation Street actress Michelle Collins as Cath, alongside Adam Lannon as Dave, Alex Britt as William, Max Percy as Matias and Victoria Gigante as Mae. The production will be accompanied by a full supporting programme and outreach activity.

Gay love, straight love, trans love, buddy love, father/son love, dizzying drama, drinking games, newfound freedom and beer bellies. Fasten your seat belts, it’s gonna be one mad trip!