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.

IRL
La Boite, Brisbane
6 – 25 November 2023
www.laboite.com.aul