IRL

Alexia (Andrew Fraser), dressed as usual as Princess Peach, and his inter-net crush, the smart but shy Thaddeus (Leon Walshe) are engaging cuties as they speak their busy texting and finally agree on a date at the Supernova Comic Con, a must for all devotees of popular culture icons.  

Fraser especially has great comic timing with his break-out asides to the audience, sitting either side of KXT’s narrow strip stage.  He also has a tempestuous friendship with old schoolmate, Taylor (Bridget Haberecht), who’s now famous playing a superhero in an American TV series but highly anxious about its authenticity – and capitalist evils in general.  

Meanwhile Alexia and Thaddeus each get lost at Supernova, in its cartoon screen world of online gaming, superheroes, fantasy movies and some weird underwater coral fire threatening talking fish.  Characters and dolls from the huge Intendo franchise game Mario are obviously familiar to many beside me.

Including Dominic Lui, the cast leap between modest costumes (Lily Mateljan) to show us flashes of these digital realms. Treston’s appealing message is that this digital opium keeps people from being IRL, and director Eugene Lynch keeps the action farcical and fast even when we have no idea of what’s happening.  Daniel Herten’s sound design adds lively punctuation to the chaos.

Reality sort of returns with the boys finally meeting, fighting and then reuniting in more well written scenes about being gay IRL. An eye-opening show, for me, which amuses you for most of its 100 minutes.

Review by Martin Portus

Photographer: Justin Cueno.