Doing battle with a torrent of water is not a task the average playwright has to handle on a daily basis. But then again, Edgware-born Laurence Lynch is no ordinary playwright.

Rewind four years and the dad-of-three, who is a plumber by trade, was catapulted into the spotlight when his début play Burnt Oak: Life and Death in London Town became a sell-out success in London’s West End.

Dealing with the gritty reality of growing up in the tough north west London suburb of Burnt Oak during the 1990s, Laurence’s play is an honest look at working class life and is in no small measure influenced by his own upbringing around Finchley, Colindale and Hendon.

But it was while he was fixing the waterworks for the fancy Savile Row tailor Huntsman that the 54-year-old first heard his play would be returning to the Leicester Square Theatre, where it was originally shown in 2011.

“I was lying under the sink, water was pouring out and it was Martin (Witts) at the theatre who called me to say they were thinking of putting it on again,“ remembers Laurence, who also does the plumbing work at the West End venue.

Burnt Oak is the first drama Laurence has written. Martin, who runs the Leicester Place-based theatre, snapped the piece up after he heard Laurence had written a play and asked to read it.

The plumber-turned-playwright admits the experience of seeing his work brought to life in the West End has been almost like a dream.

“It was all magical. You just wouldn’t expect it, would you?“ muses the Soho resident, whose play is directed by his old friend Nathan Osgood.

Although he has no formal training as a playwright – Laurence has worked as a plumber since he was 16 – he was inspired by his time working in Soho’s pubs, clubs, restaurants and venues to turn his past into a play.

For 15 years he did the plumbing for the infamous nightclub Madame Jojo’s (now closed) and was friends with Soho dandy Sebastian Horsely. He even taught actors Colin Firth and Mark Strong football knowledge at the Coach and Horses in Great Marlborough Street in preparation for their performance of Fever Pitch.

“If I hadn’t been absorbed into people’s lives who work in the theatre it would have been too alien to me,“ he admits.

“I just felt like something had to come out of me and I thought you are going to have to put pen to paper. I locked myself in a room and it took me about a month or so. Once I had started, I knew where I was going. I’m completely delighted with it.

“It is my baby and I really hope that it is going to go well this time.“

The play follows the story of trainee hairdresser Susan who is trapped between her gambling ex-con father and boyfriend who has a drink problem.

Finchley-schooled Laurence intended the show to be a true-to-life portrayal of a tough, lower-class community in London, but he has fond memories of his time living in the Grahame Park Estate in Colindale.

“That was my life and where my friends were,“ he says. “We were never really brought up with any fear of anything. Parents are paranoid about their children now. I think a lot of fear is driven by what we see in the media.“

In fact it was a chance gig he saw, aged 16, at a youth club in Finchley which in a roundabout way spurred him on to write Burnt Oak.

“I walked in there completely naive and there was a band on called The Stranglers – I walked out a different person,“ he remembers.

“This was something that was empowering. I think a certain amount of that is still with me. That you can do something.“

Burnt Oak: Life and Death in London Town, Leicester Square Theatre, Leicester Place, until May 17, various times. Details: 020 7734 2222, leicestersquaretheatre.com