We’ve been causing trouble consistently for the past twelve years…
Nudging people out of their comfort zones, poking at things that make us suspicious, and breaking rules to create bold new messes.
In a world that makes less sense than ever, we all depend on artists to provide a more beautiful and more human standard of nonsense.
Counterpilot takes this responsibility very seriously.
To date, our “bullshit” has seen us clone a performer’s identity to explore what it means to be human; hook strangers up to a polygraph machine to interrogate truth in a post-truth world; embed a gamified corporate office space into an art gallery to evoke the anti-work movement; and enlist politicians to cook us impossible meals in a game about democracy.
Our mission is to transform the way people connect with each other, and we truly do believe that uniquely strange theatrical experiences is a magical way of achieving this.
If you’ve ever had a strangely intimate encounter with a stranger under the guise of a Counterpilot experience, you might know what we’re talking about.
If you haven’t, now is the opportunity to make sure we can keep providing this — as of 2025, Counterpilot is a registered charity, which means that YOU too can be a direct part of our mission with your (tax deductible) donation.
YOUR MONEY
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OUR BULLSH!T
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YOUR MONEY // OUR BULLSH!T //
In 2027, we're back on our bullshit.
Which is to say, we'll be premiering a bold and chaotic new performance work with Metro Arts:
Disgusting Human Mouth — a live onstage dating show exploring intimate relationships between humans and bots.
Any money you donate by 30 June 2026, will directly fund the creative development and premiere of this work (you can read more about it below).
This funding will enable us to think bolder, take bigger swings, and not rely exclusively on government funding rounds to make ambitious contemporary theatre happen.
Help us put some mischief out into the world by donating today.
Even a small amount will go far.
Plus, donations over $2.00 are tax deductible!
Counterpilot Arts Ltd (Counterpilot) is a charity, registered by the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission (ACNC), and is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) by the Australian Taxation Office for ABN 41 666 216 440
ENABLE OUR BULLSH!T
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DONATE NOW
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ENABLE OUR BULLSH!T // DONATE NOW //
Development 1 of Disgusting Human Mouth
DISGUSTING HUMAN MOUTH
Disgusting Human Mouth is the second instalment in a triptych of works about AI — an onstage dating show pairing real humans with virtual beings.
With live performers and bold audience volunteers, this new work plunges a cast of “meat-humans” and AI metahumans into a playful, provocative, dystopian game.
As AI rapidly moves from novelty to permanent companion, Disgusting Human Mouth asks: what will our future relationship with artificial intelligence look like?
A bit of the backstory
Pigeon Fool at UNSW Centre for Ideas (2025)
In 2024, working alongside local AI experts, Counterpilot premiered Pigeon Fool — a theatrical game-show meets Turing Test which explores humanness in the midst of the AI revolution. For Pigeon Fool, we cloned renowned Brisbane-based actor, Lucas Stibbard, and turned him into an AI-powered metahuman to serve as our game-show host.
It was all a delightfully dystopic experience.
But in the process of building a 40-minute tabletop theatre work about AI, we were forced to leave so many interesting threads unexplored.
In particular, we were fascinated by growing reports of people falling in love with (and even marrying) their AI chatbots, including the real-world stories around AI-companion app Replika (which shut-down core features in response to an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth II).
Since then this phenomenon has only accelerated, and so too have urgent questions about intimacy, consent, loneliness, and the corporate ownership of our most private relationships…
Who is behind it
Besides the core Counterpilot team, we’re working with some pretty cool folks for this one:
LEWIS TRESTON is co-devising and helping to write the work. He is a multi-award-winning playwright whose recent works, Pride & Prejudice (Queensland Theatre Co.) and Hubris & Humiliation (Sydney Theatre Company), have reached large national audiences.
We’re also working with a pair of exceptional independent artists: ADA LUKIN (Matilda Award 2025 nominee for Best Set Design) is co-devising and production designing; and INDIAH MORRIS (Matilda Award 2025 nominee for Best Direction, winner of Best Independent Production) is assistant directing.
Disgusting Human Mouth is being commissioned by Metro Arts with Redland Performing Arts Centre and The Empire.
Where we are up to
Counterpilot received funding from Arts Queensland and Creative Australia to undertake a first and second-stage development of Disgusting Human Mouth.
In March 2026, we completed first-stage development with Metro Arts (there are photos to prove it).
In the next few months, we’ll be undertaking our second-stage development and starting to write key components of the work.
And that’s where you come in…
We expect to undertake final-stage development in December this year. Your funds will make this tech-focused development even more impactful before the work premieres to brave Brisbane audiences in early 2027.
Join us on this journey today, and we’ll keep you in the loop with all the salacious details. We can promise you that nobody will spend your money in stranger ways than we will.