Hello Liam, delighted to have the opportunity to find out more about this critically acclaimed show.  Firstly, please could you tell us a little bit about yourself. 

I’m a playwright originally from Cambridge but now based in Manchester, having moved up there in 2021 having had a COVID-related epiphany and applying for the MA in Playwriting at the University of Manchester. My day job is as an administrator in NHS mental health services - I’ve been doing that since 2017 - and that role is something that greatly influences my work. 

The show promises to serve up taboo – no spoilers but could you give us a taste of what’s to come?

It’s honestly so hard to do without spoilers, but I would say this show has the spiciness of a habanero chilli, the sour shock of lemon after a tequila shot, and of course, the strange metallic sweetness that only comes with the taste of blood. 

Where did the original idea come from?

The idea came from a fascination I’ve had for a long time with a true crime story, one of the most famous and unique in modern memory. How the two individuals involved (victim and perpetrator) found themselves in such an extreme situation, is a question that’s sat with me a long time. The play is a fictionalised exploration of that question, set in the modern day. 

A lot of the conversation right now in the men’s mental health movement comes at the issue through a very heterosexual lens, and of course straight men do need that focus - suicide is the leading cause of death in men under 35 in the UK, and all men can benefit from removing the stigma entrenched in traditional views of masculinity which prevent access to mental health support. Having said this, queer people also experience depression and anxiety at disproportionately high levels, and I wanted to explore the intersection of these communities by exploring how, rather than being exempt to them due to their queerness, the trappings of a patriarchal society uniquely affect queer men. 

How do you write the funny stuff.  Do you have special techniques?

Honestly, I just try to make myself laugh. Humour is subjective, so if I tried to write to someone else’s sense of humour I’d most likely fail miserably. In this play in particular, the comedy comes from keeping the characters and their reactions grounded, despite the absurdity of the situation in which they’ve found themselves, so that it ends up being bizarrely relatable to everyday experiences. 

Could you tell us more about G&J Productions, when it was formed and its main aims.

G+J Productions is the creative partnership of myself and director James Cave. We were paired together in 2023 as part of OffCut festival, a short-play competition in Manchester’s 53Two, where we were honoured to win the Audience Award for Favourite Play with an extract of Some Masterchef Sh*t. The relationship was instantly effortless - James and I share a dramatic language, and it just made sense to form a company and keep that journey going. Our work aims to use comedy to challenge stereotypes and highlight challenges faced by the queer community, but while avoiding preaching to our audience and retaining a sense of fun at all times! Our next project, Eric vs the Beaver, a farce exploring the world of sex work and open relationships, is currently in pre-production and will premiere in Manchester in September this year. 

Images: George Miller and Harry Freeman in SOME MASTERCHEF SH*T

The actors George Miller and Harry Freeman, are clearly doing the script justice (all those five star reviews).  What is particularly special about the pair?

We are so lucky to be working with such a talented pair of performers. George, like James, was part of the original group put together for OffCut, so it was pure luck (and skill from the OffCut team!) that he ended up with the role of Luke. His comic timing is excellent and he is just an incredibly considered actor - his performance is forever evolving and he’s constantly finding new truths in the performance. Harry joined the team last year when we took the play to Edinburgh Fringe and slotted in effortlessly. He walks the balance of humour and heart  perfectly, and brings a beautiful softness and vulnerability to Adam. But more than this, it is the chemistry between them, the magic they create, which really brings the play to life. 

Online dating is a great place to find humour and talk about the human psyche – are there are any related stories that you would like to share?

I will start by saying that I found a sense of safety in using dating apps as a queer person, in that you have certainty in knowing the other person’s identity and that they are open to dating - no more playing the game of ‘Is he interested in me or just also gay’ or accidentally falling in love with yet another straight guy! The main lesson I had to learn through online dating is that it truly is about finding someone you ‘match’ with - someone not feeling a connection with me didn’t mean there was anything ‘wrong’ with me, just like there wasn’t anything ‘wrong’ with the people I didn’t feel drawn to. And in the end, I actually met my partner through Hinge and we will be celebrating four years together later in the year, so success is possible if you can wade through all the frog kissing! 

What do really hope to achieve with this show?

Our overall aim is to make those difficult conversations about mental health struggles more accessible to queer men, to highlight some of the less-often discussed issues of discovering your sexuality or growing up queer, and ultimately, to remind our audiences that they are not alone. 

Finally, could you tell us the line or scene of which you are most proud. 

It’s tricky because the heart of the play is in the final scene, when we really get down to the bones of both characters’ psyches, but I would say my favourite moment is the end of Scene One - that’s when the rug really gets pulled out from under the audience’s feet and they think ‘oh boy, what have I got myself into?’