Lupad to Fly

LUPAD means fly.

A raw, poetic solo work tracing a queer Filipino-Australian man’s escape and reckoning across Cebu City, Ceduna, Adelaide, Melbourne and Richmond during the late-80s/early-90s HIV era. A time when queerness lived in whispers and survival meant silence.

Through the Tinikling Devising Methodology, drawn from Tinikling, a Filipino folk dance of rhythm, near-miss, repetition, risk and grace, the story rises from the body first, then memory, then meaning.

A work about hiding, molting, and the wings we grow when we finally stop running.

Developed during a 2023 Vitalstatistix Adhocracy residency in Port Adelaide.

World premiere. And for Roman Berry, a return to the stage after years away to tell the story he’s spent a lifetime avoiding.

Lupad to Fly is part of Melbourne Fringe Festival 2026.