10 Hours in Kraków

A gay man goes on a straight stag do, in Kraków. He leaves the club alone. Ten hours later, and he still hasn’t been found…

The show

Joshua’s fourth autobiographical play follows his disappearance during a stag weekend in Poland. As he attempts to piece together the missing hours, the story moves through many forms of ‘lost’: the stuff, people, memories, in a city, in ourselves.

Getting Lost

Research into human wayfinding become part of the structure. Memories interrupt and timelines overlap, leaving the audience to find their bearings.

How do you get an audience lost without losing them?

In The Room

Joshua Dawson’s live accordion helps the audience find their bearings, with recurring musical themes marking different places, narrative strands and timelines.

There is a deliberate irony at the heart of the show: Joshua has spent years helping tourists find their way through Manchester, as a walking tour guide. Here, that experience becomes part of the play: he speaks directly to the audience, responds to the room, and allows a performance to shift depending on the people in front of him.

Development

The first two work-in-progress performances took place at Aviva Studios, the home of Factory International. It is currently being developed as part of a trilogy of his memoir plays.

“effortlessly holds a room in the palm of his hand”

James Richardson, Canal St, reviewing the July 2026 work-in-progress

Creative team

Director — Jez Dolan

Musical director and musician — Joshua Dawson

Producer — David Martin

First performances at Factory International