A light-hearted hybrid of stand-up and situational comedy exploring the intersections of life faced by someone living at the margins, The Six Guys an Immigrant Trans Person of Colour will Date in Melbourne by Dax Carney, will be presented as part of the 2023 Midsumma Festival, at La Mama HQ from 6 February.
There are few opportunities for trans representation at any stage. Dax Carnay (They / Them), a transfeminine, nonbinary writer and performer from Manila, shares their struggle with how difficult it is to find material that accurately shows what life as an immigrant trans person is like in the seven-time voted “most liveable city in the world.”
From being outed to one’s family, uprooted from their place of comfort, and being thrown in front of the world’s biggest crisis, to navigating cultural differences, and trying to find love from within marginalised groups – The Six Guys do what everyone does: finding happiness where they can, with whom they can.
Under the direction of critically regarded Melburnian theatre maker Beng Oh, the play finds humour through despair and sadness to create a comedy out of adversity.
“So I decided to write Six Guys as an ode to the general reluctance to show the true struggles of the marginalised community,” shared Dax. “I wanted to go beyond trivialisation, beyond the doom and gloom, beyond the active “turning-of-the-head.”
“I learned recently to truly recreate the truth of a tragedy is to find the humour in it. For what is comedy – but tragedy under a microscope. And I guess that’s what Six Guys is about,” said Dax.
Watch The Six Guys and find yourself falling in love and in lust; crying and laughing in the face of the realities that trans people encounter every day.
Hilarious, heart-warming, and inspiring, it will lead you down the rainbow’s end to where we can all discover and celebrate that love is love.
Dax Carney has performed various roles under the University of the Philippines Repertory Company. After an unexpected move to Australia in 2020, Dax has been featured in several stages in Melbourne, including Ken’s Quest (directed by Adam Cass, La Mama 2022) and Flat White (directed by William Rotor, The Motley Bauhaus, Melbourne Fringe 2022), as well as the upcoming adaptation of the Jane Austen novel, Margins of Persuasion, while also undertaking further studies at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
Director: Beng Oh | Featuring: Dax Carnay, Omar Dabash, Sebastiano Pitruzello | Dramaturgy: Jane Miller | Lighting Design: Clare Springett | Sound Design: Ben Keene | Set and Costume Design: Christina Logan-Bell | Video and Graphic Design: Jordan Hanrahan | Stage Manager: Teri Steer | PR and Marketing: Shei Faulmino | Writer: Dax Carnay | Producers: Justine Javier Long, Dax Carnay
The Six Guys an Immigrant Trans Person of Colour will Date in Melbourne
La Mama HQ, 1 / 205 Faraday Street, Carlton
Season: 6 – 12 February 2023
Bookings: www.lamama.com.au
For more information, visit: www.midsumma.org.au for details.
Image: D with one of the Six Guys – photo by Darren Gill