After someone threw a burger at them and shouted a transphobic slur, performance artist Travis Alabanza became obsessed with burgers. How they are made, how they feel, and smell. How they travel through the air. How the mayonnaise feels on your skin. This hilarious and heartbreaking show explores how trans people survive and reclaims an act of violence with a side of serious bite.
Alabanza talks show, audience and Sydney below:
How would you describe your show to someone who knows very little about it?
I’d say it’s a cooking show. Part comedy. Part PTSD examination. Fully live.
What makes it stand out and why should people see it?
I hate giving spoilers but if I’m honest it stands out because I’m a black t* slur in a theatre space dom’ing the audience whilst in a good pair of heels and that ain’t Shakespeare no matter how hard the old Shakesy-pee tried!
How long was the process from idea to writing to stage? Any challenges along the way?
So, fun fact I made this show nearly ten years ago! And since then I’ve toured it across the world. I wish I could remember the process but I’ve had a lot of burgers since then. There’s always challenges in a creative process, but once you find the right ingredients… you’re cooking! (Urgh hate myself for the cooking puns)
Please tell me about what attracts you to the Sydney festival and why you love performing there.
Ok so Sydney is objectively just a hot place. Hot weather. Hot people. Hot art. I’ve felt it. And after a play I’d written, Overflow, starring icon and inventor of modern transgenderism Janet Anderson did pretty well here, I couldn’t not come and dust off my old performing shoes too! I was lucky enough to open for Alok Vaid-Menon and JVN on their tours here, and I’ve just always had the best time.
How would you describe your relationship with the audience and what do you love the most about live performance?
My relationship with the audience is like a hookup that we all know is happening, and that I give them both pleasure and pain but that secretly they like it. I love live performance because it’s something in that moment only those there shared. It’s never the same, and specifically with Burgerz, it really isn’t – so it’s like a secret intimacy with strangers you make every night.
Who would you say has been your biggest inspirations?
My mum. Grace Jones. Nando Messias. Internet famous people in the early 2010s. Any girl I meet on a night out who gets the DJ to play a song after saying “no requests”.
What are three things that would surprise people to learn about you?
I am an avid tennis player (anyone wanna play whilst I’m here?). I prefer a games night to a night out, embarrassed to say. I think I look like I could sing but my boyfriend will tell you I can’t.
Finally, what would you like audiences to take away from the show?
It depends who the audience is. In Burgerz I really feel like depending who you are, you leave with such different things. But, #AllAudiencesMatter I hope you were entertained, moved, laugh, challenged, and most importantly…take away a strong desire to buy my merch!!!!
Since the debut of BURGERZ, Alabanza has received international critical acclaim and numerous awards as an author, playwright, and performer.
2026 marks 10 years since that burger slid off Travis’s face on London’s Waterloo Bridge. Come hear a story that remains painfully timely, unsettling and powerful – a triumphant response that has taken Alabanza all around the world.
January 7 – 18
January 21 – 31
