Arete to stage a play set in Martial Law-era this August
Arete to stage a play set in Martial Law-era this August
SINEGANG.ph published this press release shared by Arete. No staff writer participated in writing this article.
Following its rerun of Quomodo Desolata Es?, Areté opens its 2026 season with the theme, Sa Parang ng Digma, featuring shows that discuss different forms of man and society’s revolution against authoritarianism, injustice, hypocrisy, and self-interest.
This August 28, Areté is set to open Subversive Lives, a theatrical re-telling of the experiences of the Quimpo family during the Martial Law era. Based on the 2012 book Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years by Susan F. Quimpo and Nathan Gilbert Quimpo, this story features a family’s sacrifices during a turbulent period in our nation’s history.
Delphine Buencamino heads the production as director and movement designer. Alongside her, a tight ensemble of actor-devisers playing the ten siblings (as well as all other roles) encounter the book and bring it to life:
Gino Ramirez (Para Kay B, Ctrl+Shift: Monito Monita)
Neomi Gonzales (Walang Aray, Isang Himala)
Chic de Guzman (Sidhi't Silakbo, Desaparecidos)
Teetin Villanueva (Into the Woods, Mula Sa Buwan)
Liway Perez (Man of La Mancha, Shrek)
Jerom Canlas (VLF: Footprint, Bar Boys)
Joshua Tayco (Love’s Labour’s Won, Dekada ‘70)
Timothy Castillo (Neomanila, Batang Rizal)
Jerome Dawis (Sintang Dalisay, Dekada ‘70)
Rigel Hechanova (Ang Bata kag Ang Ilaga)
Ethan King (VLF: Buhaghag, VLF: Hibla)
Kyrie Samodio (Laruang Kristal, Lamay in Malaya)
Alongside Buencamino, the following join Subversive Lives’ Artistic Team:
Cholo Ledesma, Assistant Director
Sabrina Basilio, Dramaturg and Librettist
Jose Buencamino, Composer
Arvy Dimaculangan, Sounds Designer
Jethro Nibaten, Lighting Designer
D Cortezano, Set Designer
Carlo Pagunaling, Costume and Make-up Designer
Darlyn Romanillos and Jheanne Las, Graphic Designer
Myra Ho, Photographer
Through memory, movement, and dynamic documentary theater, we investigate: How do the country’s wounds permeate the home? Whose brave sacrifices are remembered, and whose are forgotten? And in the continued revolutionary movement, which actions bear repeating, and which must be reshaped?
Subversive Lives will have its limited two-weekend run at the Doreen Black Box Theater, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University, from August 28 to 30, to September 4 to 6, 2026. Tickets start at PHP 1,500 and are now on sale at https://arete.helixpay.ph/ or https://tinyurl.com/aretesubversive2026.
