Love, Sex, and the Trans Experience: Melbourne style!

There are few opportunities for trans representation at any stage. Dax Carnay (They/ Them), a transfeminine, nonbinary writer and performer from Manila, Philippines, 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”.

Dax 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).

The Six Guys An Immigrant Trans Person of Colour will Date in Melbourne is a lighthearted hybrid of stand-up and situational comedy exploring the intersections of life faced by someone living at the margins. 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.

Dax shared:

So I decided to write Six Guys as an ode to the general reluctance to show the true struggles of the marginalised community. 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.

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, heartwarming, and inspiring, it will lead you down the rainbow’s end to where we can all discover and celebrate that love is love.

The Six Guys An Immigrant Trans Person of Colour Will Date in Melbourne runs from 6-12 February 2023 at La Mama HQ.

For tickets and more information, visit the La Mama website.