REVIEW:
IRL at KXT Bakehouse
Reviewed by: Dro Abad
Date of Performance: 3 May
Three Words: Cosplay. Is. Truth.
Similar To: Heartstopper meets Scott Pilgrim at Supanova.
Best Thing: From start to finish, the cast kept the energy so high, so tightly choreographed and emotionally sharp that it felt like one long, hilarious sugar rush. Every performer delivered, every scene snapped.
Worst Thing: Missing out on tickets if you don’t book now.
Reason to Stay: Alexei’s and Thaddeus’s kiss… or wait, was it Mr. Dash and Mario? Honestly, who was even kissing who? You have to see for yourself!
Reason to Leave: If cosplay battles, Tumblr-era romance, and fish sidekicks aren’t your thing… actually, you might just need to re-invent your personality!
Watch if you feel like: Witnessing a love story that, despite the confusion, outshines any Tumblr-era Twilight fanfic.
Best Line of Dialogue: Honestly? Just quote all of Alexei’s dialogue and embroider it on a tote bag. But if we must choose:
“It’s not cosplay, it’s emotional armour.”
How the Audience Reacted: Non-stop laughter from scene one. A gasped “same” during a tender moment. Full-body joy.
Lighting: A flicker, a flash, a full-blown Tumblr flashback. Dreamy one second, boss-fight bold the next, the lighting design moves with the characters’ inner chaos, it’s tender when it needs to be, theatrical when it wants to be. Topaz Marlay-Cole knows exactly when to hit us with the glow-up.
Set/Costume: It’s Comic-Con meets coming-of-age. The traverse stage transforms into a shifting playground of fandom, fantasy, and teen angst. All thanks to Lochie Odgers’ clever layout and Lily Mateljan’s costume choices that walk the line between drama class and anime fever dream. That ballgown moment? Icon status achieved.
Acting: A powerhouse four-hander, with no weak links. Andrew Fraser (Alexei) lights up the stage with razor-sharp timing and unfiltered charm. Leon Walshe (Thaddeus) gives us softness, sincerity, and the kind of awkward longing that makes your chest ache. Dominic Lui shapeshifts like a chaotic theatre Pokémon. And Bridget Haberecht (Taylor/Madame Malheure) moves from deadpan bestie to full-blown vengeance villain that screams “final boss energy.”
Writing: Lewis Treston’s script is a glitter bomb of wit and heart. It captures the chaotic beauty of queer adolescence, where every emoji-laden message and cosplay persona masks a deeper yearning for connection. IRL doesn’t just parody the performative nature of online identities; it tenderly exposes the vulnerability behind the screens. Treston crafts a narrative that’s as sharp as it is sincere, inviting us to laugh, cringe, and, ultimately, feel seen.
Directing: Pacing like this doesn’t happen by accident. Eugene Lynch turns a whirlwind of characters, costumes, and Comic-Con absurdity into something that feels tight, textured, and emotionally precise. He finds the heartbeat inside the chaos and lets the fantasy scenes explode without ever losing sight of the very real, very queer teenagers at the centre.
Overall: IRL is a wild, fizzy, and deeply queer coming-of-age story that’s as messy as your old Tumblr; and just as unforgettable. It’s a joyful, emotionally precise meditation on identity, fandom, and the fantasy lives we build to survive. It doesn’t just reflect queer youth culture, it celebrates it, critiques it, and turns it into a campy comic book of feelings. It’s about the danger of losing touch with reality through fame, through cosplay, through the internet and the quiet relief of finally naming what’s real. Whether you were once an awkward teenager or still are, you’ll laugh, maybe cry, and definitely see yourself in at least one character (or maybe all of them). This is theatre for the soft, the loud, the lost, and the healing.
My Review in Emojis: 🦹⚔️💜🌈
Diamond Rating (out of 5): 💎💎💎💎💎 (Certified DIAMOND GLASS!)
Runs Until: 10 May
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/irl