In this paper, I discuss live theatre as a highly effective and dynamic medium for facilitating meaningful engagement with research on intercultural education. I make the case that ethnographic, or research-based, theatre can productively showcase challenging social issues and the sometimes confusing, poignant and humorous complexities of grappling with culturally unfamiliar and ambiguous situations. The paper features examples from the creation, performance and audience reception of my play "Queer as a Second Language", which was created from classroom, interview and focus-group transcripts of over 100 English language learners and teachers from around the world.