A singing ghost, a wedding on the brink, and a very familiar 90s anthem set the tone for MR BIG aka Tatay, A Transwoman and That Tiring Tune!, a new work landing at fortyfivedownstairs this winter.
Written by award-winning playwright Dax Carnay-Hanrahan, the show moves between 1990s Manila and present-day Melbourne, following Diana, a trans Filipina woman caught between celebration and obligation. She is planning her wedding while organising the funeral of her estranged father. Things take a turn when he reappears as a ghost who insists on belting out Mr. Big’s 1991 hit “To Be With You” on repeat.
What unfolds is a strange and funny collision of grief, identity, and family duty. The story leans into absurdity while still grounding itself in something real. It explores what it means to carry cultural expectations across borders and generations, especially when those expectations clash with who you are becoming.
“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,” Dax Carnay-Hanrahan explains.
“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.”
The production brings together the largest professional all Filipino cast seen in Australian independent theatre, featuring performers and creatives with credits spanning major musicals, festivals, and original works. It is a celebration of Filipino-Australian voices, with humour and honesty at its core.
There are also dedicated community performances, including a night centred on migrant and Asian Australian audiences and another for trans and gender diverse communities, both followed by conversations with artists and facilitators.
Running from 24 June to 5 July 2026, this is a show that mixes chaos, culture, and comedy in a way that feels distinctly Melbourne.
Grab tickets and find out more here: https://fortyfivedownstairs.com/event/mr-big
