Get A Queer Taste Of Dungeons & Dragons At The Twenty-Sided Tavern 

It matters not if you’re a seasoned dungeon crawler who’s rolled a twenty-sided die more times than they’ve seen the sun, or if your Dungeons & Dragons knowledge is fledgling: everyone is invited to enter The Twenty-Sided Tavern, an interactive comedy show spearheaded by queer talent that brings the world’s most popular tabletop role-playing game to life, feeling reassured that they’ll have a great time. 

Following a critically and commercially successful run in New York City, The Twenty-Sided Tavern is now touching down in Sydney to delight both fans of D&D and improvisational comedy. 

Audience members each night will be able to make key decisions that control the outcome of the show with their phones and some on-stage interaction, while the wickedly talented performers on-stage respond accordingly for an unpredictable night of comedy. 

The queer importance of Dungeons & Dragons
It’s no exaggeration to say that Dungeons & Dragons is more popular than ever, and its importance as a safe space for queer people to express themselves is no small contributor to its enduring success. 

Trubie-Dylan Smith, an actor from New Zealand and proud queer man who plays the Trickster archetype each night in The Twenty-Sided Tavern, explains why he thinks Dungeons & Dragons is so popular with the LGBTQI+ community: “One of my theories is that a queer lifestyle is already so off-script. Getting married, buying a house, having kids; that blueprint doesn’t completely match for us.”

“So when you’re presented with this world where you can be whoever you wanna be, live whatever kind of life you wanna live, that’s very attractive,” he continues. “You can also look however you want to look, so I think for people who don’t see themselves represented in life, it’s this awesome place that you can be in with your friends.”

Director of The Twenty-Sided Tavern Michael Fell, a fellow openly gay man who’s come from the New York production of the show, adds to Trubie’s point: “[Queer people] aren’t born into families or social settings in which we are able to inherit the lineage of queer tradition. We have to seek and find it ourselves, and that’s what brings people together to play games like D&D. It seems like a curse when you’re young, but it becomes the biggest blessing of your life.” 

Tyler Norwell Felix, Madelyn Murphy and Diego F Salinas in The Twenty-Sided Tavern Off-Broadway. Photo credit: Bronwen Sharp
Interested in Dungeons & Dragons? The Twenty-Sided Tavern is for you
For a taste of how D&D works, The Twenty-Sided Tavern is a splendid introduction to this gameplay system. Michael explains: “My key takeaway is that I want someone who knows nothing about the game to see the show and have an amazing time. They may not learn how to play D&D in its entirety, but they’ll have a sense.

“I know from personal experience in New York that people have come to see the show that don’t know anything about it, and are now in regular weekly games,” he continues. “That’s exactly what I want to do – give people a sense of what it could be and allow them to dive in.” 

Trubie reinforces the similarity to the game: “Everyone’s seen an improv show before, for or worse… but it really is like a D&D session. We’re playing a game, and the audience are both a player and DM at the table. Everyone in the room is agreeing to go on an adventure, and none of us know exactly where that goes. That’s exciting for me as a player, and I hope it is for the audience too!”

Like a good D&D session, expect the unexpected at The Twenty-Sided Tavern as it rolls into the Sydney Opera House for an unpredictable night of hilarious roleplay spearheaded by queer excellence. 

When? 18 December – 8 March

Where? Sydney Opera House, Studio Room

Tickets? $59-$119.90 + bf