Eat Slay Zombie by Alinta McGrady

Roundhouse Theatre, La Boite

14-30 May, 2026

(Photography David Kelly)

Eat Slay Zombie is a hilarious Blak comedy with a satirical edge that bites!

Dr Gemma Regan

Alinta McGrady, a Githabul-Migunberri-Yugumbeh writer, has produced a hilarious apocalyptic zombie black (and Blak) comedy - Eat Slay Zombie, Co-Directed with Samoan-Australian artist Lisa Fa’alafi. It was so popular when it opened in 2024 at the Queensland Theatre that they just had to come back to slay again.

Two besties, Juliette Coates (Calamity Jane, Waltzing the Wilarra) as the innocent and loyal Tash and Shahnee Hunter (Deadly Funny Winner, Melbourne Comedy Festival) as the bolshy Sheree, are holed up in a Brisbane bowling alley bunker, desperate to survive the zombie apocalypse. They post as @BLKBUNKERBTCHES, with only a few followers, offering advice on how to survive when TikTok is the only form of communication available in a sea of zombies.

However, they seem more keen on chasing TikTok algorithms, rather than zombies when they realise that @BRUDDABOIB (B) played comically by the larger than life Jalen Sutcliffe, (Man Mountain in Straight from the Strait) has been remaking their videos as his own. With over 400,000 followers and a sponsorship from Brunnings, they are ready to take the Budoo (penis) bully on with Doris the flame-thrower, despite the zombie threat. Both women are also searching for Auntie Irene, their number one follower, who is willing to protect them at all costs.

All three characters are well-developed and flawlessly executed. The Blak women share a tender, trusting relationship. It's them against the world until B gets involved. This is both Coates and Hunter's debut at La Boite Theatre. Hunter reprises her Shahnee role from 2024. Coates remains optimistic when “dying is not an option” and clings to the hope of finding her mother.

McGrady packs the show with satirical social commentary, confronting colonisation using zombies as an allegory for occupation. She takes on indigenous issues directly, employing local First Nations slang and hilarious one-liners from the exhausted Sharee: "I need a nap, a bag of chips, and my land back!"

There is a brilliant, spooky scene in Brunnings Warehouse, Oxley, where the three TikTok survivors finally meet in an amazing Street Fighter confrontation. Points are counted on the scoreboard before one drops in defeat. Sutcliffe cleverly uses physical comedy to dominate each scene, just as one with a Budoo would!

The innovative use of Nevin Howell’s AV multimedia design elevates every scene, recreating the TikTok posts and zombie armies on two giant walls separated by a giant bowling pin. Rob Suliman’s set is well-designed and effective, using low lighting, dry ice and simple props to recreate a bowling alley, Brunnings Warehouse and even the summit of Mount Cootha.

Many clever visual jokes are woven into the scenery, which is constantly entertaining and keeps the high energy buzzing throughout. McGrady has delivered a zippy zombie farce with a satirical edge that bites!