THE STAGE IS SET FOR MONSTERS, MAYHEM AND MUSIC MASH-UPS IN THE WORLD PREMIERE OF WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!

An epic battle between unknown monsters and unlikely heroes unfolds when La Boite Theatre and Dead Puppet Society team up to present the world premiere of WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! from 30 July to 16 August.

The fiercely funny and fearlessly inventive new work combines a razor-sharp script, all-Queensland cast, cutting-edge puppetry and a banging Brisbane soundtrack in a high-octane showdown set among the city’s iconic landmarks.

WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! is equal parts eco-thriller, schlock horror, laugh-out-loud comedy and live-action comic book, brought to life by a team of talented Queensland creatives.

It follows Theo, a young Brisbane student who first senses a strange and menacing force stirring deep in the Pacific Ocean, off the Queensland coast.

Her attempts to warn the world of impending doom and destruction go unheeded until the monster rears its head, leaving a path of destruction across Brisbane and a lesson in the perils of ignoring what lies below the surface.

Dead Puppet Society Creative Director David Morton co-directs the production with La Boite Artistic Director Courtney Stewart and touted this as one of the company’s most ambitious productions to date.

“We’re doing a few things we haven’t done in our shows before: integrating shadow puppets, augmenting our creatures with digital and robotic components, and then there’s the massive monster, which is by far the largest creature we’ve ever worked with,” Morton said.

“The joy of the work is in its ridiculousness. I hope audiences think it’s hilarious and that they enjoy seeing our beautiful city feature in a story with blockbuster ambitions.”

WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! began to take shape in 2019 when Dead Puppet Society commissioned young Brisbane playwright Maddie Nixon to create a script for a bold new monster story.

“We were really struck by the way that Maddie wanted to use dark humour and her iconic wit to have some big conversations around our fragility in the face of the shifting environment,” Morton said.

Nixon began her career as an assistant stage manager at La Boite and is thrilled her Brisbane-centred story debuts during the company’s 100th birthday celebrations.

“La Boite raised me, put up with me in my early 20s, kicked me out of the nest to freelance in my late 20s – to be fair, I willingly leapt out of the nest – and now I’m coming back. It feels nice to come home,” she said.

“This play is both a love letter to Brisbane and a wake-up call to Australia. Queensland is such a heightened version of our national political landscape.

The spectrum is fully represented here, so being able to supercharge that in a humorous way – and have a monster knock down the Wheel of Brisbane – has been a delight.” 

It’s not just local landmarks and landscapes in the spotlight with musician Dean Hanson of award-winning indie band Ball Park Music composing and curating the play’s distinctly Brisbane soundtrack.

The eclectic playlist includes The Go-Betweens’ seminal Streets of Your Town before combing the catalogues of local legends such as Powderfinger, Regurgitator, Custard, The Saints, Violent Soho and The Veronicas.

“Once I got a copy of the early script, I sat down with a guitar on my lap and a playlist of Brisbane music legends in front of me, and there was a great match at every twist and turn!” Hanson said.

“I want it to feel like someone is flipping through vinyl records from the ‘Brisbane’ section of a record store. Nostalgia is important but there’s also an original theme and variation I wrote in a slightly sci-fi style to convey a sense that although we’re set in Brisbane, there’s something different, something out of this world occurring.” 

Stewart said staging the world premiere season of WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! in La Boite’s 100th year paid tribute to the company’s long and cherished history of nurturing and promoting new Australian work.

“It is fitting, that in a brand-new work about giving voice to the next generation of change-makers, we celebrate the talented artists and creative collaborators who have honed their craft at La Boite,” she said.

Dead Puppet Society developed one of its earliest works, The Harbinger, at La Boite in 2011 and 2012, returning in 2017 with LASER BEAK MAN – a musical odyssey featuring Dean Hanson in the on-stage band.

“WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE! is both a testament to the wealth of Queensland’s creative talent and the strongest assurance that La Boite stands ready and brimming with optimism for what the next 100 years hold.”