The Superman shirt Daniel Jackson is wearing wasn't chosen for photographic effect – he had no idea pictures were set up – but it's entirely appropriate for the hi-flying playwright.

The Ayrshire-born writer is not only in the process of writing his first feature film, he's been commissioned to write a modern version of the Marriage of Figaro for the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh.

On top of that he's had 'numerous' meetings with TV execs, all keen for him to come up with the next relationship comedy in the Cold Feet vein and his plays are being produced as far afield as Australia.

And this week, his own, very clever – and very funny – play about relationships, My Romantic History, starts a three-week run at our own Tron Theatre.

It seems that nothing but Kryptonite could slow down the 32-year-old former theatre press officer in his bid to become, as he hopes, 'a stadium playwright'.

"My plays are quite popular," he says, matter-of-factly. "I don't see why I should be shoehorned into tiny little theatres.

"The way the culture works in Britain is that you earn your stripes in these little black boxes of theatre that hold 100 people. And I've done that. But to hell with it now. I want to be a stadium playwright.

"I don't want to write plays for 80-odd people who have an interest in the theatre.

"I think so much of theatre is just about writers doing stuff for their pals; they get an Arts Council grant and they're happy. But that's not what I'm interested in at all.

"I work in showbiz and if I could be an arena playwright, I would be."

It's confidence, not arrogance that emerges from the Jackson mouth.

And why not aim high? The churlish could, of course, claim Daniel was handed a ladder to success; his father is Eddie Jackson, head of the Ayrshire-based touring theatre company Borderline – which co-produced his son's first major play, The Wall, with the Tron.

And Daniel acknowledges he grew up with the appreciation that a life in theatre wasn't beyond him.

"If my dad hadn't worked in theatre how would I have even known you could have such a job? But to be honest, I never wanted to write. Yet, I always wanted a big hit for myself."

He adds, grinning: "I've always thought I'm funny, although that's not universally agreed upon. Within my family unit, I'm the funny one."

Growing up in theatre no doubt produced a playwright's education by osmosis and when he worked in the Tron Theatre in admin, he 'saw lots of plays described as great'.

But they didn't impress. He reckoned he could do better. For the most part, he has.

Daniel was spotted when he was a winner in a competition run by Playwrights' Studio Scotland, coming up with the required 10-page scene at the last minute.

His prize was the chance to work with professional writers and directors in developing it into a full-length play, which become The Wall.

If there's a thread to his plays it's that they feature a delightful mix of dark and light with lots of whimsy and well-observed characters caught up in relationship confusion.

Not surprisingly, he cites Bill Forsyth films such as Gregory's Girl as a major influence.

But My Romantic History is more of the moment – earthy and direct. He grins as he reveals the inspiration for his characters.

He said: "Tom is sort of based-ish on some of the worst aspects of my character while Amy is loosely based on a girl I had been seeing before I wrote it.

"We broke up because I didn't like her but by the time I got to the end of the play I thought 'I like her more than I do me'."

He shares the confusion of his character. "It's about getting into a relationship and not knowing when to stick or twist. That's the trick.

"I'm a bit of a narcissist. The danger is you are always saying 'twist'. It's an interesting modern phenomenon."

He adds: "My dad gave me advice once, but then I realised he met my mum when she was 19. It made me wonder what he knows about single women in their thirties.

"I'm writing from the perspective; 'What do you do when you extend adolescence to 32?' My generation has absurdly high expectations about relationships.

"If you are from a wee fishing village in Fife chances are you'll marry someone from there. But Hollywood tries to tell us something different, that it's all like a lottery win."

Life has changed for Daniel who's in world-wide demand.

"Yes, it's strange to hear your play is going to be staged in Slovenia and I was in Berlin last week for a meeting," he said.

"And My Romantic History has just played in Melbourne, with an Australian cast. One Australian theatre critic wrote that my play was 'crude'. Can you believe it? I'm not denying my play is crude, but for an Australian to find that objectionable – it's hysterical."

The writing Superman clearly doesn't take himself too seriously. That's why there's no self-imposed glass ceiling on his work, nor snobbishness.

He's written for River City and he'll write for TV again.

But he said: "If I'm going to do a TV show it has to be good and there's been nothing offered so far that excites me.

"The way I'm thinking now is I write plays that can be adapted into movies. I've got four first-drafts at home right now."

Or plays that can play in theatres the size of a stadium?

"Exactly," he says. "You've got to think big."