Drew Lausch is a queer comedian, writer, and actor from Fargo, North Dakota. His previous work includes Intermedium and Club Cumming Presents: A Queer Comedy Extravaganza. His debut solo show, FRIENDLIEST, is a darkly funny coming-of-age story about a closeted comic book nerd who creates the world’s first gay superhero while navigating addiction, identity, and the complicated people who shaped him. We caught up with him to find out more.
Introduce yourself please.
I’m Drew Lausch! Pleasure! I’m a queer comedian, writer, actor, and the only person I know who looked at Batman and thought, “This franchise desperately needs more poppers.” I grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, where coming out felt less like joining the X-Men and more like volunteering to be the first guy they test the Sentinels on. So naturally, I coped by reading comic books and developing a personality disorder disguised as a sense of humor.
How would you pitch Friendliest to a fan of super hero comics?
Imagine if Fleabag got bitten by a radioactive spider. It’s a dark comedy about a chaotic comic book artist who creates the world’s first gay superhero while his actual life completely falls apart. There are comic book references, superhero fantasies, villains, origin stories, impossible expectations, and a grown man desperately trying to save himself with the emotional maturity of Peter Parker and the coping skills of Tony Stark.
And how would you pitch it to someone who doesn’t really know what Pride is for?
It’s about trying to become the person you wish had existed when you were growing up. You don’t have to know anything about Pride to understand wanting to belong, screwing up spectacularly, or desperately hoping someone still loves you afterwards. The gay stuff just means I trim my body hair.
How different is this from Intermedium, and your other work?
Intermedium let me play a closeted Mormon. In Friendliest, I basically play every bad decision I’ve ever made. It’s definitely the most personal thing I’ve written. My stand-up has always come from my life, but this lets me blend comedy, theatre, and comic book fantasy into something that’s somehow both sillier and more emotionally devastating. It’s the closest I’ve come to putting my actual brain onstage.
Who is your favourite comic book creator and why?
Grant Morrison. Nobody writes like they’re simultaneously a genius, completely unhinged, and maybe communicating with beings from another dimension quite like Grant Morrison. Their work convinced me comics could be philosophical, deeply human, and absolutely batshit at the same time. That’s pretty much the energy I aspire to.
Who’s your favourite super hero?
Northstar. He was Marvel’s first openly gay superhero, and as a closeted kid in North Dakota, just knowing someone like him existed meant everything. Representation sounds like a buzzword until you’re sixteen and convinced you’re the only gay person within a hundred miles.
Personality-wise, though? I’m probably closer to John Constantine. Self-destructive, drinks too much, makes terrible decisions, somehow survives anyway. Friendliest basically asks what happens when Northstar’s hopeful legacy gets filtered through Constantine’s coping mechanisms.
What is the hardest part of the show?
Remembering that the audience can’t actually see inside my head. The show bounces between stand-up, storytelling, and comic book fantasy, so my job is making those worlds feel seamless. Emotionally? There are moments where I have to revisit parts of my life I’d much rather leave buried. Then five seconds later I have to make a room laugh.
Why do we love super heroes so?
Because they’re everything we’re not. They’re brave when we’re scared, selfless when we’re selfish, and are gut wrenchingly hot. They remind us that people can change and also give us a safe space to escape to when reality can be a bit…crunchy.
Why the Edinburgh Fringe?
I’ve wanted to bring work to the Fringe since I was eighteen, when I visited Edinburgh while I was still closeted. Coming back with this show feels incredibly full-circle. Also, where else can you see a Shakespeare adaptation, a clown having a mental breakdown, and a man pretending to be a gay superhero within fifty feet of each other?
What was your inspiration for the show?
When I was growing up, the closest thing I had to a gay superhero was whichever X-Man Tumblr had decided was queer that week. I wanted the kind of hero I desperately needed as a kid but then I realized the real story wasn’t about creating a superhero. It was about figuring out why I thought someone else had to save me in the first place.
Where else can we see you?
After Edinburgh I’ll be back in New York & LA performing stand-up and developing Friendliest as a television series. If things go badly, I’ll be somewhere with a tequila soda. Also, watch my Webseries Sugar Baby! It’s on Youtube and my completely unbiased opinion is that it’s awesome.
The Avengers or Alpha Flight?
The Avengers. But Alpha Flight deserves more respect. Canada looked at Wolverine and said, “What if we made the rest of them aggressively Canadian?” That feels really right.
Power or Responsibility?
Power. Responsibility comes with emails & planning birthday dinners.
Truth or Beauty?
The truth of MY beauty.
Friendliest runs at Gilded Balloon Teviot (The Nook) from 5–31 August (excluding 18 August) at 6:00pm. Follow Drew on Instagram @realdrewlausch and TikTok @drewlausch.
