‘Close Enough To Touch’ is a drama from Red Ladder and Silent Uproar that asks what happens when our deepest urges are shrouded in shame. See it at Arts Centre Washington this October.

This intimate, gripping drama—written by Henry Roberts and directed by Cheryl Martin—follows a nameless man through his minefield of a dating life. On the surface, he has a girlfriend, but he’s also hiding a life-shattering secret (and a glance at the picture above will probably give you a subtle hint as to what that secret is). ‘Close Enough To Touch’ takes us on a journey through the underbelly of queer dating life—in particular, cruising—and how our internal shame can make it incredibly hard to communicate our true feelings. When our desires don’t fit into tiny little boxes, do we explain it, or do we take another route and bury it deep inside us? MW

Close Enough To Touch, Thursday 29 October, Arts Centre Washington, 7.30pm, £10-£12, 16+. sunderlandculture.org.uk