SMILEY - A gay rom-com by Guillem Clua Adapted and Directed by Liam Burke Starring Sergio Ulloa Torres and Matt Young Initially written in Spanish by stage and screenwriter Guillem Clua, SMILEY stars two of Queensland’s most versatile acting talents, Sergio Torres and Matt Young.

The play made its World Premiere in 2013 in the tiny Sala Flyhard in Barcelona, then made the leap to the Teatre Lliure first and to the Club Capitol where it ran for over a year. The play then enjoyed a season at the Lara and Maravillas Theaters in Madrid, and has since been produced in Chile, Puerto Rico, Greece, Italy, Germany, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela, Miami, New York City and now a first for Australian theatre here in Brisbane.

A Japanese legend states that when two people are destined to be together, an invisible red thread connects them from the day they were born. That thread is unbreakable and has the power to bind two people no matter how far they are from each other, and however different they may seem. Álex and Bruno, the two protagonists of this romantic comedy, could not be more different. They form a strange couple in which the only thing have in common initially is that they are men and that they have fallen in love. Their differences seem insurmountable, and their antagonistic personalities, whether they like it or not, are linked by that red thread, no matter how often they want to break it.

The play opens with Álex being ghosted by his lover. He picks up the phone to ask for an explanation but gets voicemail yet again so he picks up his work phone but dials one wrong digit and leaves a message for Bruno who happens to be gay. This misunderstanding leads to them meeting and what begins as a normal and ordinary date ends up becoming an event that will change their lives forever. Smiley is a love story that finds humour in the fears we face when we fall in love. It explores how new technologies such as WhatsApp and Grindr have changed our lives, while accurately dissecting the contradictions of effective relationships within the gay community. It is also an homage to Barcelona and pays tribute to the some great romantic comedies. Smiley is all this and more, but above all, Smiley is a song of love.

SPONSORED BY BRISBANE PRIDE