Critically acclaimed theatre-maker Alexis Gregory is set to tour the UK with SMOKE, his most daring and uncompromising work to date.
Following a sold-out London run in 2024, the production will tour from April to June 2026 in partnership with LGBTQ+ non-profit organisation You Are Loved.
The tour will offer a two-part experience for audiences, combining the performance with a post-show panel designed to open up local conversations around the show’s themes.
SMOKE begins with a glitch when Alex receives an Instagram DM from his boyfriend, who has been dead for two years.
The play follows Alex’s search for the truth and subsequent unravelling, exploring grief, psychosis and drug use within the queer community.
Written and performed by Gregory, the fast-paced contemporary queer thriller blends savage comedy with an unflinching look at queer life in the digital era.
The production is directed by Campbell X, reuniting the award-winning director with Gregory following their previous collaborations.
Following each performance, You Are Loved will host a specially curated 45-minute panel discussion featuring local LGBTQIA+ figures and community voices, with each panel tailored to the city it is presented in.
Writer and performer Alexis Gregory said, “I wrote SMOKE based on my own experiences and those unfolding around me. SMOKE is quite a departure for me, in style and how we stage, but I am still, as I always love to do, blending the dark humour alongside the hard-hitting in the writing. I’m so pleased to be working with SMOKE’s original director Campbell X again, whose unique worldview is inherently part of the project, and teaming up with the trailblazing You Are Loved to create a special two-part touring event for audiences across the country.”
Director Campbell X added, “I jumped at the opportunity to work with Alexis as his theatre work is a powerful creative and historic document about LGBTQ lives. SMOKE delves into difficult terrain navigated by gay men in terms of grief, identity, mental health and addiction. Topics often hidden in story telling because of collective queer shame. SMOKE demands we lift the lid with dark humour and pathos to go on an emotional journey.”
Founder and CEO of You Are Loved Marc Svensson commented, “This partnership is not only a tour de force performance about queer mental health, addiction, and loss but also a space for local LGBTQ+ communities and allies to come together to talk, share and support each other through discussions about topics disproportionately affecting our community such as shame, loneliness, and grief.”
The tour opens at Omnibus Theatre in London, where press night takes place on Wednesday 22 April 2026, before visiting venues across England.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
