The perpetual shifting sands of the stage productions might have changed some theatres. Yet, one Brisbane Theatre will continue its tradition of staging performances that broaden the horizon of live production- La Boite Theatre of Brisbane. In early 1985, when Queensland was gripped by puritanical political conservatism, I joined La Boite’s Youth Theatre. Back then, La Boite was a theatre in the round located across the road from the home of State of Origin football, Lang Park, in the inner-city Brisbane suburb of Milton. Even though Queensland existed within a cultural vacuum because of the political regime, there was one constant in the world of Queensland performing arts: La Boite would always push the boundaries of theatrical productions, by staging plays that were professional, authentic and pioneering in what was otherwise the forgotten doldrums, which was Queensland’s performing arts community, restrained by oppression.

Now, due to the expansion of road infrastructure, the old theatre has long since been removed, yet La Boite survives in a different location, still pioneering the evolving world of theatre in Queensland. Which brings me to the upcoming season at La Boite, featuring their staging of the play Eat Slay Zombie. Playwright Alinta McGrady (depicted above) wrote, and now co-directs Eat Slay Zombie. Alinta is a multidisciplinary artist and also a Githabul–Migunberri–Yugumbeh woman. During her illustrious career, Alinta McGrady has performed nationally and internationally with the groups Hot Brown Honey and Polytoxic, and with artists such as Xavier Rudd and Blue King Brown. Alinta has performed on stages at the Woodford Folk Festival, Yonder, the Quandamooka Festival, the Melbourne Comedy Festival, and headlined the Circus and Theatre stage at the Glastonbury Festival with Hot Brown Honey. Additionally, she has created music and theatre for Children under ‘Alinta and Waveney’ and as a solo artist BADASSMUTHA.

Eat Slay Zombies is a horror/comedy about colonisation, friendship, and state occupation. The exception in this play is that it’s zombies. Yes, the zombie apocalypse has occurred, and TikTok is the sole form of communication. This is a world of zombie kill statistics, educational doomsday TikToks, and out-of-bounds Bunnings (there goes the $2.00 sausage sandwich!). The play’s protagonists, Sheree and Tash, are taking shelter in a bowling alley when a stranger, another survivor, arrives. seeks shelter from the horror of the marauding zombies and, by entering Sheree and Tah’s isolated world, challenges their isolation. In being disturbed, the two protagonists must make some vital decisions, including whether to stay with their unexpected guest when three is a crowd, or instead explore the world outside the bowling alley. Yet how do they survive when they’re defenceless, without such devices as flame throwers? The picture below is a link to the trailer for Eat Slay Zombies, and it is evident from the video that the play will be a brilliant comedy in the new frontier of comic theatre:

Eat Slay Zombie promises to be another gem in Brisbane’s emerging theatrical scene. When the season commences, it shall be my first occasion to reconnect with La Boite, one of the training grounds of my youth. Committantur ludi!