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2026
2026
Feb 5, 2026
From timeless Broadway classics and Shakespearean comedy to immersive experimental theater and original Filipino dramas.
Jan 31, 2026
The Manila Society of Theater Reviewers (MSTR) recently announced the winners of the 1st MSTR Awards, recognizing outstanding achievements in theater across Metro Manila for productions presented in 2025.
Jan 13, 2026
The Manila Society of Theater Reviewers (MSTR) has emerged as a beacon of thoughtful critique in the vibrant theater landscape of Metro Manila, announcing the winners of their inaugural awards on January 10, 2026.
Jan 10, 2026
“Quomodo Desolata Es? Isang Dalamhati,” a contemporary Filipino adaptation of Nick Joaquin’s “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino,” was the big winner at the first Manila Society of Theater Reviewers (MSTR) Awards, taking home four honors including best production of a play.
Jan 10, 2026
The Manila Society of Theater Reviewers (MSTR) has announced the winners of the 1st MSTR Awards, recognizing outstanding achievements in Metro Manila theater for productions that opened during the 2025 calendar year.
Jan 5, 2026
They say theater is the art of the present, but for me, 2025 was a year of catching up. After health challenges forced me to sideline my traditional yearender for 2024, I returned to the stalls last year with a renewed appetite and an improved mindset.
2025
2025
Dec 31, 2025
After seeing 49 shows, we've picked the 10 that stayed with us longest. Our list is far from exhaustive—there were many more brilliant performances than one person could ever see.
Dec 8, 2025
The idea of staging a rock musical had been kicking around the head of Wolfgang vocalist Basti Artadi for years, possibly decades. It was while working with director Nelsito Gomez, though, that a concept started taking shape and flesh: Basti and Nelsito realized a lot of the singer’s lyrics resembled a much older story, that of Goethe’s ill-fated Faust. You know: the guy who sells his soul to Mephistopheles, and gets dragged down to hell.
Dec 5, 2025
We are now in what we may call a post-revenge theater era, with multiple shows running all over the metro every weekend—some of which even sell out way ahead of opening night.
Dec 5, 2025
“It’s alive!!!!” This phrase applies not just to Frankenstein’s monster but to the local theater scene. There’s so much going on that’s getting positive word of mouth and I’m happy for all those involved in all the recent, current and upcoming theater ventures.
Nov 24, 2025
A rare theatrical convergence unfolded at the Ateneo de Manila University the weekend of Nov. 14–16: a total of five productions running all at once, the resulting smorgasbord quite sufficient to sate the appetites of a theater-going public compelled to hunker down at home by Super Typhoon Uwan the previous weekend.
Nov 23, 2025
"Faust," a 19th century tragic play in verse written by Johannes Wolfgang von Goethe is considered the greatest work in German literature. The story was about a desperate man named Faust who made a deal with a devil figure named Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles will let Faust experience heaven here on earth. But in exchange, Faust agreed that his soul will follow Mephistopheles straight into hell later during his afterlife.
Nov 18, 2025
There’s something about the earnestness of musical theater and the intensity of heavy metal that makes them seem diametrically opposed, or at least difficult to blend without diluting them. But through its own audacious, go-for-broke methods of madness, Areté’s Si Faust cranks up the drama inherent to both performance styles until the anguish of its characters and the viciousness of its music become one and the same.
Nov 8, 2025
Ahead of its official opening, Exit Left Collective’s Balay Dolor: A Live Draft held a press show on Friday, 07 November 2025, 7 p.m., that invited guests and audiences to share feedback. This experimental staging, with script by Iago Guballa and direction by Robert Bradly Hao, highlights the writing over traditional production elements, offering a raw and intimate experience.
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