CRUISE Will Receive Australian Premiere in February

Backlit by the clubs of London’s Soho, Michael Spencer faces the music of his last night on Earth. Diagnosed with HIV in 1984, he's told by doctors that he has just four years to live. Determined, he decides his doomsday will be his biggest party yet. Sweat mixes with tears, and final dances turn into farewells. There’s a midnight countdown to his death but Michael … survives. With the gift of life, how can he go on living?

Nominated for the Olivier Award for Best New Play in 2022 and now receiving its Australian premiere with community-led Fruit Box Theatre, Cruise is an intergenerational monologue spanning four decades and over 20 characters, celebrating queer nightlife and paying tribute to a generation lost to the AIDS crisis.

Cruise is an ode to the power of intergenerational learning, storytelling and connection. As such, Fruit Box Theatre is proud and honoured to have community consultants Jonny Seymour and Wilfred Roach working with them on this project, speaking to local and international histories. Jonny Seymour is a music producer, activist and major collaborator, resident & curator at The Bearded Tit’s Queerbourhood, and one part of club kooky, Sydney's longest running club night dedicated to queer performance and music. Wilfred Roach is a Sydney-based storyteller, writer, poet, performer, activist and advocate for queer refugees in east Africa. The first volume of his memoirs, Black Gay & Underage was published in 2019.

Off the back of winning the Time Out People’s Choice Award for Best Play for Back to Birdy (Sydney Mardi Gras, 2024), Fruit Box Artistic Director Sean Landis will be helming this latest project. Working with an intersection of queer artists from both theatrical and nightlife backgrounds, Landis is bringing a fusion of worlds to KXT on Broadway. Bringing a distinct club sound to the work is Sound Designer Chelsea Wheatley, whose artistry has seen her releasing music and touring the world under the pseudonym 'Chela'. Movement Director Jeremy Lloyd brings a movement language to the work inspired by their work across circus, musical theatre and go go dancing in clubs. This blend of high and low art sits at the core of the aesthetic of Cruise; capturing the essence of the gritty club in this polished theatrical piece.

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