A new play set in Whitehaven is set to take a comedic look at the trials and tribulations of using dating apps in rural Cumbria. 

David Tierney, who grew up in Harrington, will premiere his play Swiped! at the Rosehill Theatre on May 15, with further dates on May 16 and May 17. 

The play, which is inspired by David's own experiences using dating apps before meeting his current partner on Tinder, is also set to raise money for four local charities. 

Walk for Lloyd, Copeland Talking Newspaper, Breast Foot Forward and Team Evie will all benefit from ticket sales, with hundreds of tickets already sold.

Speaking to the News & Star, David said: "The idea came about as I'd done some acting with the Rosehill Theatre a few years ago. Rosehill wanted to do something a bit different. Before I met my partner Ashley on Tinder, we both had a few dates, some of them were unusual to say the least. The one thing that was overarching was that everyone said 'I could write a book about the people that I have met.'

"There's definitely some odd characters in the dating world and when I'd recount these stories to friends and family, they'd sit and laugh their heads off. I've always been able to write things that make people laugh so I thought why don't I put it into a play."

The play sees Gemma, a woman who has started using a wheelchair and is looking for love, meet two men on 'Tingle'. 

She meets two different men in Whitehaven, one of whom is her perfect match and another who is rich and charming. She picks the second man, which leads to 'disastrous consequences', as he has an 'ulterior motive' that will be revealed on the night. 

David added: "I'm so excited for it. An enormous amount of work has gone into it. Although we are volunteers and we are all amateurs, we're very good at what we do and we're going to make sure it's great."

Over 400 tickets have already been sold, you can buy a ticket here.