World Premiere Of IRL To Rollick Across The Stage At La Boite

La Boite’s final show of Season 2023, IRL, is a pop culture fuelled romp full of big laughs, sharp dialogue, iconic costumes, and just enough romance to set hearts racing. The story follows Alexei, a seventeen-year-old with a passion for cosplay who gets lost in the lies – or stories – he tells about himself. As he and his long-time internet crush, Thaddeus, prepare to meet IRL (in real life) at the Supanova pop culture convention, Alexei – in a moment of regrettable self-sabotage – assumes a false identity to test the authenticity of his would-be boyfriend.

This fast-paced new work from Brisbane playwright Lewis Treston and directed by Matilda Award-winning theatre director, Sanja Simić, is a must see!

Being a 17 year old is awkward. 

Being a gay 17-year-old cosplayer with a mild Disney Princess obsession, a TV celebrity as a best friend and a first date with a shy guy you met online takes awkward to the next level.

IRL is fairytale meets fanfiction in the quest for ‘happily ever after’. It is a fierce and funny reflection of what it means to be a teenager searching for friendship, love and acceptance and trying to find your community.

Alexei and his long-time internet crush, Thaddeus, are about to meet IRL (in real life) at the Supanova pop culture convention.

In a moment of regrettable self- sabotage, Alexei assumes a false identity to test the authenticity of his would-be boyfriend.

When Alexei’s best friend Taylor begins channelling the anti-capitalist vigilante superhero she plays on TV, the thin line between fantasy and reality wiggles wildly out of control.

At the end of a very long, strange, cosplay-filled day, will the trio find the connections they’re each craving?

This riotous and relatable world premiere work is written by Brisbane’s Lewis Treston, the creative force behind La Boite’s 2022 smash-hit, An Ideal Husband, and directed by Matilda Award-winning Sanja Simić.

Runtime: 90mins (no interval). Subject to change.