AustLit

'The fall of a dictator and the reverberations on the generation he jeopardised.

'1986, Manila, the Philippines. The world finally looks on as history is being made by a society tearing at the fabric of a regime and demanding change.

'On the fateful evening of President Ferdinand Marcos’ exile, young men climb the walls of Malacañang Palace, storm the hallways, and seat themselves on his throne. Among them are brothers Martin and Ernie — heroes... if only for a night.

'Nearly 40 years later, the siblings reunite in Brisbane, where Martin’s teenage son Leo is incensed that the dictator’s heir is being elected to the presidency of the Philippines. With a fresh revolution and some old family secrets in the air, the three men will reconnect over the conditions of love, the question of duty and the price of rebellion.

'In a watershed moment for Australian Filipino theatre, Jordan Shea’s Queensland Premier’s Drama Award-winning play draws on his multicultural experiences in an ambitious and haunting theatrical epic that celebrates the power of ordinary people to (re)discover their bravery and help shape history.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Bhing is a recent migrant and a trained school teacher but has been mending the battered bodies of Perth residents through pressure points and massage tradition to survive. Disenfranchised, anxious and forever sending his hard earned cash home, he yearns to move on to an industry that will excel him.

'Scott, a miner pulled to the Pilbara by a captive pay packet and caught up in the FIFO cycle, arrives for his appointment full of tension and unreasonable demands to be fixed.

'Through a series of massage appointments, the two bring their polarising values, expectations of male friendship and intimate secrets to the fore.

'This new work interrogates the dilemmas of people of colour working within the Australian service industry, the complexity of toxic masculinity, and mental health within the mining work culture through an inventive theatrical language.'

Source: 25A.