Gay & Loathing in Bris Vegas is a new comedy web series, launched by local co-producers John Cahill and Craig Rossiter on their YouTube channel Cloudland Pictures. The series launched on 24 March, with new episodes streaming weekly.
The series follows a group of gay men and their weekend in Brisbane as they make their way between brunches, dating apps and tea readings. With two out of the three producers gay and the other disabled, this series takes an authentic yet comedic angle to tell a much needed story of an under-represented group of people. Gay & Loathing makes fun of the cultural cringe that Brisbane still suffers from in being the younger not-so-confident sister to Sydney and Melbourne, and uses satire to present Brisbane through the eyes of the queer community in a way that is meaningful yet entertaining.
After writing a number of short films which never left the bottom of his filing cabinet, Cahill turned to blogging and stand up comedy which took him to Melbourne and Sydney, where he met sourced inspiration for the series. After returning back home to Brisbane and meeting Craig, Gay & Loathing in Bris Vegas began. Rossiter had also studied screenwriting but in California, and was keen to take on a co-writing project.
Cahill used his personal experience as a way to shape the storyline. “For me, these characters could come from any gay enclave of guys, or a gayclave as I like to call it, in any metropolitan centre in the world. For me, their inspiration comes from my time living in Sydney for many years and the last few years being back in Brisbane. Once you start writing the characters they then take on a life of their own and it’s their decisions and actions that dictate who they are,” he said.
Three episodes of the series recently screened at the Brisbane Queer Film Festival and the series has been recently selected to screen at the Web Series Global Festival and the Sicily Web Fest.
The series trailer can be found on YouTube.
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