Play Room

In this surreal queer rom-com, macho bouncer Alexei secretly attends a cruising hotspot, where his sexual experiences are played out as rounds of board games. After multiple unfulfilling encounters, he finds himself connecting with Josh, which forces him to finally confront the way he keeps these worlds apart.

  • Tom Whiston
    Director
  • Tom Whiston
    Writer
  • Azhar Tlevlessova
    Producer
  • Joshua Urquhart
    Key Cast
    "Alexei"
  • Cole James
    Key Cast
    "Josh"
  • Daniel Cawley
    Key Cast
    "Carol"
  • Thom Tuck
    Key Cast
    "Matthew"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Rom-Com, Queer, Surreal
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 7 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 4, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    2,302 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University Of The Arts, London
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Tom Whiston

Tom Whiston is a writer, director and comedian working in both Edinburgh and London with interests in absurd comedy, tense horror, and queer cinema.

Having worked in development for BAFTA-winning Channel X Hopscotch, Tom began his career making visual theatre as part of the Scottish Youth Theatre's National Ensemble, before training in clowning with Stamptown's Zach Zucker and performing live comedy on the UK circuit.

Tom's work combines the visually imaginative and conceptually bold with heartfelt, true-to-life characters, taking inspirations from filmmakers such as Aki Kaurismaki, Richard Linklater, and Quentin Dupieux.

An established act on the UK alternative comedy circuit, Tom has found success both domestically and abroad, including sell-out performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Adelaide Fringe, and the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

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Director Statement

Play Room is a personal story about finding love within the equally liberating and challenging gay cruising space. As gay relationships are pushed more and more into gamified apps, and sexual pressures manifest themselves to young queer people like myself in new and difficult ways, I wanted to tell a story that treats these situations bluntly, while using a comical metaphor to prod around the issue in a lighthearted way.