ATE LOVIA

(AH-teh low-VEE-yah)

BY JORDAN SHEA

12 MAY – 4 JUNE 2022
OLD FITZ THEATRE

THE PLAY

1996.

John Howard has won.

Pauline Hanson is sworn in.

Lovia slaves away at the checkout at Franklins. Her brother Vergel, wins a spectacular role in the fabulous world of community theatre. Their father Jovy passes out under the hills hoist in the backyard of their home in the Sutherland Shire in a habitual alcoholic binge, propelled by the trauma of a crumbling democracy in the Philippines.

Lovia navigates the rapidly dissipating relationship between her father, while Vergel yearns to express himself under suffocating masculine expectations. Soon, Jovy’s erratic behaviour escalates, and their safety is compromised. Lovia and Vergel find close allies, former showgirl Wendy, and idealistic Franklin’s co-worker, Mitch. Both hungry to escape suburbia for a bigger picture, the one Vergel and Lovia always wanted since coming here.

Ate Lovia is a new Australian work that interrogates an evolving Australian migrant dream, and the decisions we need to make to sustain ourselves in a rapidly changing landscape.

*A workshop development on 5-9 July 2021 was supported by National Theatre of Parramatta (NToP)

CREATIVES

Director Kenneth Moraleda
Writer Jordan Shea
Assistant Director Nicole Pingon
Production Designer Ruru Zhu
Lighting Designer Martin Kinane
Composer, Sound Designer Michael Toisuta
Choreographer: Lauren Nalty
Fight Coordinator: Tim Dashwood
Stage Manager Sophie Jones
Filipino Language and Cultural Consultant: Happy Feraren
Dramaturgical Support Callan Purcell
Intimacy Coordinator: Shy Magsalin
Community Engagement: Marcus Rivera and Michael Moraleda