The Polka Theatre opens up its Autumn season next Friday with new children's play The Ride of Your Life, a comedy journey through time following one boy and his dog's attempts to understand - and change - evolution.

The play is the first written for children by renowned writer and director Mick Gordon, and revolves around an angry orphan called Charlie and his dog Fitz, who is a cross between to highly unsuitable breeds, an Irish wolfhound and a beagle.

"Fitz's dream is of being handsome and Charlie's necessity is to get a big gold star in his homework as he has been caught copying and if he doesn't he will get expelled," explains Gordon.

"Charlie makes his dog watch the world famous naturalist David Fattenborough on TV and an advert comes on for a fairground ride that whisks you so fast it takes you back in time.

"Fitz gets the idea that if he went back in time and changed his mongrel beagle of a daddy's evolution he would be totally handsome so he runs away from Charlie to the ride and changes evolution.

"He turns into the most handsome of all the dogs and can now speak human but the problem is by fiddling with his own evolution he has turned his master into half-boy half-fish so they have to go back to the ride and try and put the problem right.

"That's where the buddy movie starts and through their adventures in the age of the dinosaurs in the future and on the Galapagos Islands with the HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin, Charlie learns about evolution.

"It's great fun."

Evolution is no easy topic for adults to get their head around, let alone young children, but Gordon believes they play will manage it without being to didactic.

"When you are writing a play for children explaining a complicated scientific idea you have to do it in a way that is charming and very funny so the kids can enjoy the process," he says.

"I always think that as soon as anyone in the audience senses we are being didactic or overly educative then the theatre is failing as it should first of all entertain.

"This is the first play I have written for young people so not having any children of my own I have been borrowing them from friends and testing out some of the scripts on them to see if it is funny enough and clear enough."

The Ride of You Life, Polka Theatre, The Broadway, September 25 to October 31, various times, £8 to £12. Call 020 8543 4888 or visit polkatheatre.com.