"Kasama Kita is definitely something I never have seen before in the independent theatre scene or on the mainstage in Sydney right now. It’s such an ambitious work that really chronicles the history that Filipino nurses played in the ‘70s in terms of the health system," says filmmaker and actor from Sydney Vonne Patiag after watching the play "Kasama Kita".
He adds that the play "really tracks the trajectory of going from the past to the future. I was really amazed at where the play took the characters and I guessed really showed the way Australia really affect these migrants and these characters.”
The two-hour play written by Filipino Australian playwright, Jordan Shea, tells the story of three student nurses - brother-and-sister Antero and Nancy and Cory - who came to Australia in 1974. They were forced by a political uprising that has compromised the safety of millions in the Philippines. The trio enrolled as student nurses at Balmain Hospital and later on, they all start to embrace, reject and assimilate into Australia's sense of culture.
Filmmaker and actor Vonne Patiag Source: SBS Filipino
The 'Kasama Kita' actors with playwright Jordan Shea (wearing a hat) after the play's opening night Source: SBS Filipino
"It's not just a Filipino story, it's a Filipino-Australian story. Even though the story of Nancy and Antero and Cory aren't my story or my family's stories, it still felt so personal," points out writer and filmmaker Miranda Aguilar adding "it made me more hopeful because this is a beautiful and relevant play especially in 2019 where all these conservatives are starting to come out again and worries about "illegals" and immigration."
Writer and filmmaker Miranda Aguilar Source: SBS Filipino
The play is showing until December 07 at Belvoir St Theatre in Surryhills.
