Light Switch

Henry Sullivan, 27, single, gay, and autistic, lives his life vicariously through the heroes and heroines of the 19th Century British novels he devours. But no marriage plot has prepared him for dating as a contemporary gay man. When he meets a potential match in Joseph, every romantic notion of his will finally come true-or will it? Hilarious and heartbreaking, LIGHT SWITCH tells the story of one remarkable young man’s journey toward love and acceptance over the span of twenty years.

LIGHT SWITCH is a vital and important theatrical piece. Dave Osmundsen, a gay, autistic playwright, weaves his personal experiences as both child and an adult into a passionate tapestry of loving relationships and insights into the autistic mind. LIGHT SWITCH will have you on the edge of your seat with riveting humor as well as deeply felt emotional moments, portrayed in a manner that is engaging, entertaining and educational. Its messages go well beyond the world of autism and LGBTQ relationships, and will be meaningful for those whose lives are touched by autism as well as those whose lives are not (or not yet).

Barry M Prizant, author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism

With LIGHT SWITCH, Osmundsen has created one of the great central characters of contemporary theater in a beautifully written story existing at the intersection of neurodiversity and queerness. The play is a classic example of the specific being universal. What defines us as individuals differs in the details, yet we are all after the same things in life. Just like the main character Henry, we all seek love. I highly recommend this play for theaters with young ensembles and for people interested in sitting down to read a fantastic play that will entertain and move them.

Brian James Polak, playwright and host of The Subtext podcast

Its intersectional importance aside, LIGHT SWITCH is simply a magnificent, skillfully-written play. It tells the story of a challenged, often challenging, but always endearing young man who is learning how to love.

Michael John Carley, Founder, GRASP, Director, the Connections Program for New York University’s global Autistic Students, Author, The Book of Happy, Positive, and Confident Sex for Adults on the Autism Spectrum...and Beyond!

With LIGHT SWITCH, Dave Osmundsen has deftly written a beautifully poignant play of first love and self-acceptance through an Autistic lens. The relationships in the play are painfully complicated and fully realized by the playwright’s keen observations of young people colliding in a world of love, sex, intimacy and intellectualism. It’s a world I didn’t know, but a world that I’m grateful Dave gave me a tender glimpse of.

Gary Garrison, playwright, and author of Perfect 10: Writing and Producing the 10-Minute Play