Mon, 19 May, 2025 — Sat, 24 May, 2025
Directed by Robert Softley Gale
A heartwarming comedy with unexpected connections across cultures.
Set in the vibrant heart of Marrakesh, The Sunshine Spa is a touching, funny and thought-provoking play that brings together two strangers – Iain, a wheelchair user from Manchester on holiday with his partner, and Zainab, a young Moroccan woman working at a tourist spa to maintain her independence.
When Iain mistakenly visits the Sunshine Spa looking for a completely different experience, what unfolds is a beautifully awkward, deeply human encounter that challenges both characters’ preconceptions. Through the intimate setting of a traditional hammam treatment, Iain and Zainab navigate cultural differences, personal traumas, and unexpected vulnerability.
With sharp humour, poignant moments of revelation, and thoughtful exploration of themes including disability, sexuality, cultural identity and human connection, The Sunshine Spa offers a refreshing perspective on how meaningful relationships can bloom in the most unexpected places.
In association with Birds of Paradise.
Every performance will be captioned in a creative way.
There are BSL performances on Wed 21 May and Sat 24 May with interpreter Greg Sinclair. Please book the BSL option on Ticketweb (at no additional cost) so we are able to send you further information prior to the performance.
Please see our Accessibility page for more information on our space and how to access the venue. Please email info@playpiepint.com with any enquiries and we will get back to you.
Writer: Simon Jay
Director: Robert Softley-Gale
Simon Jay is a comedian, writer and performer who has created several theatre shows, including the award-winning Trumpageddon, which toured in the UK and Australia. He has performed his solo shows at theatres including the Young Vic, Kings Head Theatre, Wales Millennium Centre, Hen and Chickens, Chrysalis Theatre (Milton Keynes), and The Old Fire Station (Oxford). Simon's collaborative projects include John Lewis: Never Knowingly Undertweeted (co-written with Ben Nardone, Drayton Arts) and Is He a Bit Simon Jay? (co-written with Scott Payne, UK Tour). His other plays include 4 Walls (Carabosse Theatre Co. Milton Keynes), Samantha Smith: America’s Youngest Activist (Scrawny Cat, Battersea), and 403 Forbidden (White Bear, Kennington). Simon is also the creator and editor-in-chief of Neurodiverse Review, a review site dedicated to supporting acts by and for disabled artists, especially at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Robert Softley Gale has been a leading figure in the Scottish and UK arts scenes for over twenty years. His award-winning writing debut and solo performance, If These Spasms Could Speak, was a hit of the 2013 Edinburgh fringe and has subsequently toured internationally to countries including Brazil and India. He wrote and directed My Left / Right Foot – The Musical, which won a Fringe First and toured to Japan and ‘Purposeless Movements’, which he co-created with Rachel Drazek, was a sell-out hit of the 2019 Edinburgh International Festival. Robert sits on the Board of the National Theatre of Scotland.