After a slew of highly positive reviews and award nominations in London and Edinburgh, the UK tour of writer/director Stephen Leach's Can't Wait To Leave arrives at Manchester city centre's venue 53two (October 23-25).
A first from new writing group 1912 Productions, the play centres on Ryan, bruised, bisexual and alone, as he reflects on the course his life has taken in the past six months following the sudden departure of the older brother he always hero-worshipped. The play explores themes of loneliness among young people, male bisexual identity, and the pressures of modern hustle culture.
Stephen says: "Bisexual representation in theatre is (bafflingly) rare and this play has been the result of a team of bisexual creatives at every level: writers, designers, producers, and performers. We're proud of this show; it has meant so much to so many people to get it to this point.
"1912 Productions was set up with the goal of staging original new writing. We aim to create theatrical projects which challenge, surprise, and engage whilst saying something about the world we live in today.
At the heart of 1912's ethos is a commitment to properly compensating all the artists and creatives we work with and all of our projects are designed with this in mind.
"CWTL is our debut production but we're currently in the early stages of R&D to bring a second play to the stage in 2025 in addition to a couple of smaller projects."