In, MR BIG aka Tatay, A Transwoman and That Tiring Tune!, we’re introduced to Diana, a trans woman who, on the eve of her wedding, receives news from home that her phobic father, Joey (who walked out on his family years before and who Diana has been no contact with), has just died.
As if processing her emotions around his passing weren’t enough, Diana is being haunted by her father’s voice from the past, and a constant refrain from a song he taught her when she was a teenager.
The show flashes back to Diana’s adolescence, before her transition when she was Dion. Dion is struggling – with the knowledge of Joey’s infidelity, with Joey’s homophobia and bigoted views, and with being a boy coming out to her father as gay, and potentially more.
As if being scared of his wife’s reaction or his son’s queerness wasn’t enough, Joey is being haunted by Diana’s voice from the future, and a constant refrain from a song he tried to teach her, but one she’s refusing to sing. The show is structured fine enough, with past and present spooking each other at every opportunity while Diana in the present inexorably melts down.
Behind the action, the main backdrop to the set is an oversized projection placing us at each location. These visuals are shaky and distorted like they had been recorded on an old VHS, evoking that romantic yet painful quality that home movies and memories often possess.
It’s a beautiful choice, which coupled with apparitions crossing space/time in both directions, gives the show a Lynchian feel. Indeed, the presence of a figure from the future acoustically influencing the past also has shades of Interstellar.
Yet, what’s most compelling about, MR BIG, is not what it homages, but the manner in which it balances those influences and grounds itself. Diana’s home is in the Philippines and she wears her Filipina heritage unapologetically in the way she relates to her friends and her use of her first language.
Sound levels were abrasive towards the beginning of the show, with dialogue being lost, but this was sonic polished marble compared to the aural 12-grit sandpaper of hearing the same two lines from “To Be With You” again and again before the show reaches an end that, admittedly, only somewhat satisfied.
What stood out in Dax’s show from last year, The 6 Guys an Immigrant Trans Person of Colour Will Date in Melbourne, was its lead character’s wonderful epiphany and ending. Here, however, things are less convincing. After much disruption, the ghosts from either timeline get dropped for seemingly no other reason than the story needs them to.
It’s also difficult to believe that Diana’s strong, trans Filipino-Australian existence could be so threatened by the memory of someone who could reasonably be argued doesn’t deserve an ounce of grace. Like Andrew Bovell’s Things I Know to be True, families can defy reason, effortlessly choosing cruelty over acceptance.
The speed and depth to which Diana crumbles on her final phone-call home, only for it to be made okay just as quick when she’s reassured her father did love her will give you whiplash, but grief is anything but smooth and linear.
Dax Carnay-Hanrahan was superb in the role of Diana with excellent presence and comic timing, whether as a friend, a phantom, or becoming increasingly less Bride-”chilla” as the spooky singing persisted.
Ken Paolo played Dion, the younger Diana, in flashback scenes. This was a touching and sweet performance by Ken, particularly as Dion gains the strength and bravery to open up to Joey about who he is, who he’s always been.
Joey’s lazy phobic thinking and selfishness were all portrayed in stellar and repugnant fashion by Trevor Santos. In contrast, Diana’s mother was dignified and resolute, and played well by Anna Buenaseda.
Ayril Borce played both Joey’s friend, Nolet, and Diana’s friend, Alfie. Considering his proclivities, Nolet is perhaps more homo-faux-be than phobe, while Alfie has so much glorious queerness he could power a gay continent till Pride next year. These depictions of Nolet’s “Ew”-ness and Alfie’s beauty were exceptional by Ayrul.
A highlight of the show was Aiden Gale Miranda in the role as Diana’s fiancé, Jerry. Jerry is present and kind in a way that suits Diana perfectly, hilariously at times, which Aiden conveys brilliantly in an engaging, well-rounded performance.
Supported by a myriad of fantastic performances, MR BIG aka Tatay, A Transwoman and That Tiring Tune!, is more than worth a visit. But, don’t dilly dally, it’s only on until Sunday 5 July.
MR BIG aka Tatay, A Transwoman and That Tiring Tune!
fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Performance: Friday 26 June 2026
Season continues to 5 July 2026
Bookings: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
For more information, visit: www.mrbig.tayotayocollective.au for details.
Images: MR BIG aka Tatay, A Transwoman and That Tiring Tune! – photos by Myca Guinchoma
Review: June Collins