There’s something stirring off the coast of Queensland. A creature. A warning. An impending disaster.
But if 'We’re All Gonna Die!', the new eco-thriller meets comic book chaos hitting La Boite Theatre, is telling us anything, it’s that the end of the world might actually sound a bit like Violent Soho.
At least, that’s how Dean Hanson sees it.
Best known as a founding member of Ball Park Music, Hanson is the composer and musical curator behind the monster-fuelled, schlock-horror spectacle. He’s been tasked with soundtracking a show that mixes climate allegory, local satire and a love letter to Brisbane.
From the moment he read the script, Hanson was all in.
“It was just easy,” he says. “Every scene I went to, I was like, ‘I’ve got the perfect song for this’. It touches on so many Brisbane-esque things. And when you start diving that deep, you realise how much these iconic artists have actually woven the city into their music.”
The brief: build a soundtrack from Brisbane legends like Powderfinger, Regurgitator, The Go-Betweens, Custard and The Veronicas, then add original music to give it a warped, cinematic edge.
“I sat down with Spotify in front of me, thinking about which artist might suit each scene,” he explains. “Sometimes it was obvious, like it had to be ‘Streets Of Your Town’. But then I’d get to a moodier scene and go, ‘Maybe a Veronicas ballad here?’ or throw in some Violent Soho to shift the energy.”
What he ended up with is a wild sonic cocktail — part Brissie nostalgia, part apocalyptic chaos, part twisted Saturday morning cartoon.
Beyond the mixtape moments, Hanson wrote original compositions that thread through the show. These bring a strange, sci-fi vibe that pushes the story beyond Brisbane’s borders.
“They pitched it as Brisbane-centric with a sci-fi edge. Things like 'Stranger Things', 'X-Files', 'Jurassic Park' were thrown around,” he says. “So I wrote some compositions that push it out of the local and into this bigger, slightly spooky world.”
One piece stuck early on. It started as a rough melody on acoustic guitar while Hanson read the script.
“It was just this super odd, little dissonant tune. Weird enough to be interesting, but still pleasant. I thought, this could be the theme. I ended up using it in two versions. One more mysterious and cinematic, and one more aggressive. Same melody, totally different energy.”
The contrast between local charm and eerie threat runs through the show — and every time the creature arrives, the music shifts too.
“You’ve got this normal sort of mixtape running through the show,” Hanson says. “But every time the creature appears, the music shifts into this sci-fi world. It lets the audience know something mysterious is happening.”
These transitions aren’t just for mood. They’re emotional pivots that help the audience move from comedy to consequence.
“There’s a moment of discovery every time the music changes. Whether the discovery is grim or not. . . That remains to be seen.”
Theatre is a new lane for Hanson — and one he’s embraced. Unlike writing for Ball Park, where the songs come from his own experience, this project let him build off someone else’s story.
“When I’m writing for the band, I’m looking within. Sometimes that’s not the nicest thing to do,” he says. “But here, I’m trying to express emotions someone else has created. It’s freeing. You judge yourself a little less.”
The final track he’s composed hasn’t been heard yet. He imagines it playing as the curtain falls. Something dry and wistful. Less sci-fi, more Brissie garage band at 2am.
“It’s not super sci-fi. It’s not cinematic. It’s just this indie, Brisbane-esque song that I think ties everything together,” he says. “If it all pans out the way I imagine, that’ll be the moment where the theme, the city, the monster, all of it collides.”
He’s not here to depress you. If anything, 'We’re All Gonna Die!' is a strange kind of tribute — noisy, heartfelt, and weirdly hopeful.
“The pride I have in Brisbane, in the scene I’ve been part of for two decades. . . It’s huge,” he says. “The brief was to represent the city through the music. I’ve been part of this scene for nearly two decades, so I hope that pride really comes through.”
'We're All Gonna Die!' plays La Boite Theatre (Brisbane) 30 July-16 August.
