Luis Dias on ARE WE FRIENDS? at the Old Red Lion Playhouse
After the success of our 2025 Camden Fringe Interviews, we thought it only right to attempt a repeat for 2026. So throughout July we’ll be publishing new interviews each day to give a taste of what to expect from London’s best fringe theatre festival. The festival starts Monday 3 August this year, so we may give ourselves a couple of days off inbetween the end of the interviews and the first shows… then again, we might not.
You can find out more about Camden Fringe, along with details of every show playing this August here. You can also find all of this year’s interviews as they are published here.
There is a specific brand of vulnerability that only happens in the dead of night, when the rest of the world is asleep and the filters we wear during the day finally fall away.
Stepping into the intimate upstairs theatre at the Old Red Lion Pub & Playhouse this August for Camden Fringe, ARE WE FRIENDS? captures that exact, fragile atmosphere. Produced by Open Door Collective, this striking new piece of writing balances awkward, laugh-out-loud humor with an emotionally exposed look at modern isolation.
The production marks an exciting collaboration between writer-performer Luis Dias and actor Noah Matthews Matofsky. We caught up with Luis to discuss the tricky reality of acting in your own script, the magic his co-star is bringing to the rehearsal room, and why chasing human truth is always better than chasing a cheap laugh.
If you had to describe the vibe of ARE WE FRIENDS? in just one sentence, what would it be?
ARE WE FRIENDS? feels like sitting beside someone at 2am and accidentally telling them the truth. On stage, that intimacy manifests through a stripped-back setting, naturalistic dialogue, long silences, and a constant tension between humour and vulnerability, allowing the audience to feel as though they are witnessing something painfully private unfold in real time.
Why does a story about the messy realities of connection feel so urgent in 2026?
I think it arrives at a time where conversations around loneliness, connection, and mental health feel more important than ever. We live in a strange moment where people are constantly connected to one another, yet many still feel deeply isolated. The play explores what happens when two people who feel misunderstood unexpectedly find comfort in each other, and I think that feels incredibly relevant right now. At its core, the play asks what it actually means to stay for someone, especially when things become difficult, and whether we truly allow ourselves to be seen by the people around us.
We are living in a time where people are craving honesty. The play starts in a surprisingly funny and awkward place, but slowly becomes something much more emotionally vulnerable. Hopefully, audiences recognise parts of themselves in Oliver and Andy; whether that’s loneliness, fear, grief, or simply the need to feel understood. More than anything, I hope the play reminds people that connection matters even when it’s messy, complicated, or uncomfortable.
What was the initial spark or ‘eureka moment’ that made you realise this specific friendship needed to be written down?
The play began with the idea of two very different people searching for the same thing: companionship, love, and someone willing to truly stay. From there, I became interested in how loneliness and connection can exist side by side, especially between people who are often misunderstood or emotionally isolated. What interested me most was exploring friendship in a way that felt honest, messy, complicated, and sometimes painful. ARE WE FRIENDS? became a way of exploring what happens when someone unexpectedly enters your life and quietly changes it, whether you are ready for that or not.
You are sharing the stage with Noah Matthews Matofsky. What has he brought to the rehearsal room that completely surprised you?
Noah keeps surprising me in every single rehearsal. What struck me most from our very first read-through was how effortlessly funny and truthful he was. The way he stepped into Andy felt completely natural and honestly left me speechless. He immediately brought a warmth, humour, and honesty to the role that felt incredibly instinctive.
Because I’m also performing in the play alongside Noah, rehearsals have become this constant process of discovery. The energy, instincts, and ideas he brings into the room continually reveal new layers within scenes and characters that I wrote myself. There have been moments where Noah approaches a line or a moment in a completely unexpected way, and suddenly I understand the scene entirely differently. It’s made the whole process feel incredibly alive, collaborative, and unpredictable in the best possible way. I genuinely can’t wait for audiences to see just how talented and magnetic he is on stage.
You wear the hats of writer, director, and actor for this production. How challenging has it been to balance those different creative brains?
The biggest challenge has honestly been trying to communicate with the writer. Unfortunately, the writer is me! There have been so many moments where my writer brain is convinced a scene should go one way, while my instincts as an actor completely disagree. So most rehearsals end up feeling like an argument between me and myself.
What has been particularly challenging with ARE WE FRIENDS? is finding the right balance between humour and vulnerability. The play starts in a much lighter, awkward place before gradually becoming darker, so there has been a lot of work in making sure those shifts feel truthful and earned rather than forced. I’m fairly certain most people would recommend therapy at this point!
What does ultimate success look like for you this August, beyond just packing out the house?
Success for me this August goes far beyond ticket sales. I hope the play genuinely connects with audiences and sparks conversations that continue after people leave the theatre. ARE WE FRIENDS? deals with loneliness, friendship, grief, and the need to feel seen, so I would love audiences to leave reflecting on their own relationships, or maybe even thinking about someone they should probably call.
I also think it’s important that new writing continues creating space for voices and performers who are still too often overlooked within the industry. As a writer and performer, success would also mean seeing these characters fully come alive in front of an audience for the first time and watching the play belong to more than just me. After living with these characters for so long, there is something really exciting, and slightly terrifying, about finally letting them go.
What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how did it shape this show?
At uni, I had this lecturer who told us that if you go on stage and have a line where you need to ask for a glass of water, and you know that line normally gets laughs from the audience, you should still only ever ask for the glass of water and not the laughs. Because the moment you start asking for the laughs instead of the glass of water… the audience stops laughing.
That advice has genuinely stayed with me and massively influenced how I approached ARE WE FRIENDS? as both a writer and performer. The play naturally shifts between humour and much darker emotional territory, so throughout the whole process, we’ve tried to focus on truth rather than trying to make the audience laugh or cry. Hopefully, if we get the truth right… the audience does the rest.
Many thanks to Luis for sharing his time with us. ARE WE FRIENDS? plays at Old Red Lion Playhouse from Wednesday 12 to Friday 14 August.
