A Scottish man has turned his memories of his family’s fish and chip shop and grief of his father’s passing into a must-see play.

After losing his father to cancer suddenly when he was 28 years old, Lorenzo Novani – who was born in East Kilbride but now resides in Toryglen - was left with a lot of unanswered questions.

He wanted to know more about his father’s lifelong battle with mental health which saw him in and out of psychiatric facilities in the country.

(Image: Image by Heather Longwell) “This play is a bittersweet love letter to my father,” Lorenzo told the Glasgow Times.

He continued: “When my father died, there were a lot of things I wanted to ask him that I never got to find out.

“He spent a lot of time in my family’s fish and chip shop (The Hippy Chippy in Paisley) and his work and personal life were so separate.

“He was also in and out of hospitals for his mental health, and the adults around me shielded me from that.”

(Image: Image by Heather Longwell) In an attempt to work through his grief and to understand his father more, Lorenzo wrote Cracked Tiles – a one-man show in which all the characters (besides his dad, who is not cast) are portrayed by Lorenzo.

The story follows Riccardo who has inherited his father's run-down chip shop in the East End of Glasgow. But with the sale of the shop looming, Riccardo isn't ready to leave as he has just discovered a compelling oddity in the family business records.

Confused and loaded with curiosity, he now finds himself with no choice but to revisit family history, asking questions of his father he never would have dared to ask before. 

(Image: Image by Monica Teeling) Lorenzo said that audiences will feel the grief of the show while getting humour from Glasgow characters who come in and out of the shop.  

He continued: “I had the idea to write something inspired by my father and I’s bond, and the story is essentially a child trying to make sense of his father.

“There’s a lot of laughs in there too, based on the people who came into the chippy. I think I’ve got the balance of sad and fun just right.”

The 41-year-old added that working on the play has helped him move on from his grief which he hopes it can do for others too.

The playwright first debuted the show a few years ago with a special performance at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Following the performance, Lorenzo decided to flesh out the script and characters and expand on the show.

He explained: “The core of the play hasn’t changed. However, I have used more advanced sound effects and lighting to heighten the experience for the audience.

“Over time, myself embodying all the characters has definitely become clearer and less clunky.”

(Image: Image by Monica Teeling) Given the similarities in getting their start at the Fringe and the core of their productions being based on mental health and illness, Lorenzo says he would love to see his play reach the same level of success and attention as the recent Scottish hit Baby Reindeer.

The Netflix hit, which was written by and starred Scots actor Richard Gadd, follows Donny Dunn who works as a bartender in a London pub. When he offers a cup of tea to a customer, Martha (Jessica Gunning) to cheer her up, she develops an attachment to Donny and begins to stalk him both in person and online.

Lorenzo said: “There are definitely parallels between my play and Baby Reindeer.

“Richard Gadd said his show was a human connection drama and the show proved that there is a place for drama – rather than romcoms, actions or comedy films.”

(Image: Image of Baby Reindeer cast) Lorenzo went on to add that just like Baby Reindeer went from a one-man Fringe show to a series, Crack Tiles will follow suit.

He said: “I want to expand the play into a series and that’s a process I will soon start to embark on.”

Cracked Tiles will be coming to the Old Gym Theatre in Govan on October 10 to 12 -October 10 is already sold out.

If you want to grab tickets for the two remaining days, click HERE  

Men’s mental health charity, Men Matter Scotland, will be supporting the three performances of Cracked Tiles and will be present to highlight their work in suicide prevention.