Brisbane review - Malacañang Made Us: Awestruck Audience Appreciate Award Winning Show

By Lilian Harrington

Production: Malacañang Made Us

Writer: Jordan Shea

Company: Queensland Theatre Co.

Director: Kenneth Moraleda

Location: Billie Brown Theatre

Queensland Theatre Company

78 Montague Rd. South Brisbane.

Show Times: Evg. Mon- Wed 6 30 pm.

Thur.- Sat 7 30pm Mat. Wed 1.00pm Sat 2.00pm.

Limited Season: 18 October – 1 November.

Bookings: www.queenslandtheatre.or.au / (07) 30107600

Malacañang Made Us is the award-winning multicultural script by emerging writer Jordan Shea, the recipient of this year’s 2025 Queensland Premier’s Drama Award; it focuses on the 1986 political uprising in the Philippines. The production premiers at Queensland Theatre Company, and it is supported by the Queensland Government, Griffith University, Melt, and other key sponsors; It presents an exciting new perspective on the important uprising in Manila which occurred 40 years ago.

It focuses on the overthrow of dictator, President Ferdinand Markos and his wife Imelda, who were forced to go into exile in Hawaii. Their palace was stormed and overturned by their enraged and frustrated citizens, who finally found their voice and demanded change from the poverty and corruption they had suffered.

 Malacañang Made Us is the story of two young, brothers Martin (Miguel Usares) and Ernie (Marty Alix), who were involved in the fatal uprising at Malacañang Palace, before Martin finally escaped to Australia, with his son Leo (Mark Paguio), and raised him in Sunnybank, Queensland, where he built a new life as a Queensland Rail survey controller. His brother Ernie, worked in the Philippine Airlines as an airline steward and much to his older brother’s dismay, returned to Australia, a proud gay man.

The play is told in a dramatically sharp documentary style, initially through Martin’s son, Leo Cabaero, who unknowingly, seems to be following his father’s footsteps, while speaking in different tongues he gets involved in a public student protest. As his Uncle Ernie says:” You don’t have to unlearn. We switch our tongues to survive- we are the chameleons; we are the shapeshifters.” This line as Director Morelda says, seemed to capture the essence of the Filipino experience, holding onto what is theirs and adapting to change, such as when the Cabaero’s move to live in Australia.

The    audience was very engaged as the dramatic events unfolded and they witnessed videos of the political uprising. These images were explained by young Martin and Ernie and were displayed over the stage walls and through the actions of the young brothers; interspersed with these events were the reflective actions from the older Martin (Mike Zarate) and Ernie (Marcus Rivera), about what really occurred on that fateful night years earlier; Leo’s current stand for his beliefs helps reunite his father and uncle and they eventually support Leo in his pursuit of justice.

The Queensland Theatre was dedicated to find the most authentic and talented, professional Filipino actors, so they searched nationwide. Several of the actors are known for their film and television work. Ernie (Marcus Rivera), held the audience spellbound, as did young Ernie (Marty Alix), with his athleticism and characterization.  

Filipino director, Kenneth Moraleda, has created an awesome spectacle, which incorporated confident team work. The actors played various characterizations in a well-designed, fast paced, choreographed collage, utilizing different staging levels, which incorporated a set that intersected across time (Jeremy Allen).

Under the leadership of the Stage Manager (Jacinta Way), the creatives designed a very well-planned production; in particular the work of video designer, Nevin Howell, was effective, and provided the audience with a clearer understanding and interpretation of events and details of the uprising, which both supported the energetic stage action and highlighted the key focus. Malacañang, will leave the audience gasping!