Set between 1990s Manila and contemporary Melbourne, MR BIG follows Diana, a trans Filipina woman juggling her upcoming wedding and the funeral of her estranged father. Her plans fall apart when her late father reappears as a singing ghost who will not stop belting Mr. Big’s 1991 hit “To Be With You.”
Fusing music, comedy, and haunting absurdity, the play dives into gender, grief, and immigrant duty, navigating the chaos of a fractured family legacy. This heartfelt and hilarious Filipino-Australian story forces an unavoidable, ridiculous confrontation with the ghosts of the past.
“When my estranged father died in Manila, I didn’t feel sorrow. I felt the sudden weight of being the eldest ‘son’ in a Filipino family crashing into my full feminine fantasy in Melbourne. Organising his overseas funeral while planning my wedding was an absurd collision of duty and champagne. MR BIG is the rhythm I found in that wreckage. The soundtrack to playing the bride, the mourner, and the reluctant patriarch all at once. Also, it’s just very funny,” says Dax Carnay-Hanrahan.
The production also features the largest professional all Filipino cast in Australian independent theatre history. The ensemble includes dance artist and choreographer, Trevor Santos (In The Heights, Jagged Little Pill, Miss Saigon, and Hamilton) who has collaborated with artists including Guy Sebastian, Mo’Ju, Missy Higgins, Hayden Calnin, Sheppard, and Hangeng.
June 24 – July 5
