Do you think there are sides of your lover that they keep hidden from you?  How far would you go to expose them? And how prepared are you for the consequences of doing so? These are just some of the questions asked in Steam, a new gay play that runs at the Barons Court Theatre, London, from 5-10 June 2007.

Matt likes to push Billy around in the office. Billy thinks he knows why.  Tonight, at the company's football clubhouse, he gets his chance to prove it. And Matt's devoted girlfriend is watching their every move...

We spoke to Jason Charles, the author of Steam, to find out more about the play, secrets, locker rooms, nudity on stage and being truthful in a relationship.

Steam is about to open at the Barons Court Theatre. What can we expect?
The play is about sexual power, entrapment and hidden desire. Expect a heady blend of secrets and lies - and more secrets.

What was it that originally inspired you to write the play?
I have always been fascinated by the idea of people leading double lives, being one thing at home and another person at work for example. I think we all have facets of ourselves that we hide. The big question that interests me and what inspired the play is what, or who, does it take to bring them to the surface?

So, is it autobiographical in anyway?
All my plays are. I think the main autobiographical event which planted the creative seeds for the play was a particular person I knew who I could just see wanted to drop that safe protective cloak and whisk me away to some forbidden secret island. But they couldn't because they had too much to lose. Or perhaps the play just stemmed from a fantasy.

What does the play's title refer to?
A welcome mist to hide surreptitious glances, and maybe even touches…

What was the attraction of the football clubhouse as a location?!
I think the locker room is traditionally the place where men let down their guard, along with their clothes. It's all lads together. Nothing to fear. Nothing to hide. The female character therefore adds an interesting dynamic and, of course, so does the openly gay one.

Are you a fan of football, the kit, or just the players?!
In context, all three.

One of the reviews from the run last year said that “for all the sex talk the play is never crass". How much sex talk are we talking about?!
There is a lot of cryptic sex talk. At one point the seemingly straight characters compete in a very macho, uber-hetero way in how close to being gay they have been. It’s kind of a Close Encounters of a Queer Kind.

How have you managed to keep the explicitness so acceptable?
Is there anything that isn't acceptable on stage in 2007? We have seen everything now. I don't think it is possible to be shocking anymore.

Sex – particularly in gay plays – is often used to get bums on seats. Does that bother you?
Yes. Especially after I read an interview with a playwright recently who said that he just writes nudity in for the actors he fancies. That made me cringe a bit. I am interested in the core and root of a piece, the writing and what inspired the writer. And hopefully I would like it to make me think, and address the world differently. If people just want to see a bit of cock they can go to a strip show.

So, who's the cute guy in the poster? Is he in the play?
Yes, his name is Stephen Weston, he plays Billy. He is lovely.

The play deals with secrets in a relationship. Is total truthfulness the key to a long-term relationship or should things be kept hidden?
Well the play deals with secrets that if exposed would totally destroy the relationship. The problem here is that the relationship probably should never have been formed in the first place as it is based on lies. But if everyone was truthful all the time there would be no good material out there for writers... Of course, if you are looking for a happy conflict-free relationship, you need to be truthful with your partner all the way. But there is no such thing as the perfect relationship. I think being happy in a relationship actually comes from realising this ... I feel like Trisha all of a sudden.

Matt likes to push Billy around in the office. So is it true that often the most homophobic of bullies are really just scared of their own sexuality?
I would say it is definitely not a rule-of-thumb. But I imagine it happens quite a lot. I can't say I have come across it directly. But the idea that this may be the case was probably the main inspiration for the writing, and for the character of Matt.

Would you go as far as your characters to expose the truth?
Yes, if I felt like Vanessa and Billy - driven mad by love. This is the greatest form of insanity.

The play was first performed at the White Bear Theatre in 2006. Have there been any changes to the play or production for the latest run?
I have updated the script, and I would say this has greatly improved it. We also have a brilliant new cast and director.

You've got an academic background in writing plays. How has this helped you?
Hugely. But I agree with the saying that you cannot teach someone to be a writer, just as you cannot teach someone to be an artist. It has to come from within. You have to be possessed and driven by your ideas and be impelled to get up at 3am to write them down. Writing is like appendicitis, you've got to get it out.

What would you like audiences to take with them after having seen Steam?
I don't think any piece of fiction writing, be it a play or a film or a novel, has done its job unless it leaves the recipient with a flea in their ear, something to think about. But a play either works for you or it doesn't. I have seen a number of plays where it has just been too obvious what the writer is getting at, and wants us to think about, so much so that it becomes preachy and didactic - the worst type of theatre, after farce of course.

So, give us the big sell. Why should we come and see Steam?
Hopefully you will be able to recognise something of your own life and your own desires in the play, and ask yourself if you would go to the same extremes as the characters. And despite the high drama and underlying messages of the play, there are also a lot of laughs to be had too!

Read our review of Steam and find out more at www.steamtheplay.moonfruit.com and www.myspace.com/steamtheplay.

Steam, by Jason Charles
Barons Court Theatre
28 Comeragh Road
Fulham
London, W14
020 8932 4747

5-10 June 2007 at 8pm

Find out more about Gay Britain buy getting Gay History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Men Since the Middle Ages. Buy it online and save yourself some money to put towards Queer London: Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis, 1918-1957.