Virgin Labfest (VLF) 2025 courageously opens difficult conversations

Liane Carlo Suelan’s Ang Bata Kag ang Ilaga is set in St Jerome’s Home for Children. One of the orphans, Isaac, misses his chance to take a baby rat in when it goes missing.

Director Siglo Pecho, coming from Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas, the country’s esteemed puppet theatre founded by National Artist Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio, blends well the narrative’s social realist core with children’s theatre’s whimsical appeal through puppetry.

Read more: IdeaFirst Live!’s inaugural production, ‘Anino sa Likod ng Buwan’, is set for a rerun in October 2025

Completing the Bubot set is Ade Valenzona’s Polar Coordinates, which centres on Igo’s frustration toward polar coordinates. With the looming dilemma of repeating the 10th grade, he prepares for the final exams amid a family conflict.

Paolo O’Hara’s direction of this play carefully handles the delicate themes of family trauma and gender identity. The director’s way of exploring his narrative shines with the sense of respite and balance in what seemed to be polarising for a child’s mind.

Former con artist Mariah repents by joining the annual Lenten exhibition in Eljay Castro Deldoc’s Minating ni Mariah ang Manto ng Mommy ni Mama Mary. However, things turn when Mariah is accused of stealing the antique veil of St Mary Magdalene.

Dexter Santos’s take on this play perfectly fits the Manibalang set where stories of redemption and lies blur their borders. In this play, audiences are invited to question their impressions on people and how such prejudices are formed.

Ivan Vilacorta Gentolizo’s Unang Araw has four strangers accomplishing a job for the mayor. As they drive into a remote forest in Mindanao, clashing political ideals and hidden motives are revealed.

Cholo Ledesma takes audiences into a whirlwind experience with this play marked by several times of revelation and exposition. As much as their fateful encounter written in the stars, their conflicting ideals and situations in life make up for a riveting climax.

Senator Zaragoza, author of a landmark bill, is accused of bil, is accused of money laundering during the senate hearing in Siege Malvar’s Presidential Suite #2.

Johnnie Moran’s witty take on this material is grounded on an incisive and satirical exploration of Philippine political dynasties and on an insightful deconstruction of the binary of morality.

The Kinalburo set opens with Chris Joseph Junio’s Mga Magindara sa Siyudad, where entertainers Maureen and Maylene struggle to keep their shows afloat on their makeshift stage of plywood, bamboo, and iron scraps. As one is homosexual while the other is physically disabled, the pair go against societal norms yet their dream of making it big in the metropolis blaze in their hearts.

Riki Benedicto’s direction navigates the complexities of life’s realities in this play, emphasising mankind’s untethered relationship with material riches to satisfy the desires of the heart.

Ang Problema sa Trolley by Imuthis (Harvey Rebaya Sallador) unveils on Pandacan’s rails. An attempt to jump into the river comes with a damning secret, leaving the trolley driver and passenger wondering what to push next—the trolley or the passenger.

Adrienne Vergara’s careful direction on this delicate and sensitive material made the act of suicide both triggering and empathising. The slow burn style of storytelling paves for the audiences to traverse the spectrum of affinity towards the ensemble.

Ex-spouses Boyet and Raquel face the tragedy of nostalgia and letting go in Rolin Migyuel Obina’s The Late Mr Real. Separated by COVID-19 isolation rooms, the two discuss the future of their only child, Carl.

Instead of putting up a wall to divide the rooms of the actors, director Maynard Manansala opted for an imaginary one, making the dialogue cubistic and absurd, which resurges the unnerving atmosphere of the pandemic. But more than that, it made the dialogue unobstructed with an air of reconciliation possible amidst the direness of their family situation. However, there is a sense of predetermination for the ending, though it still strikes audiences a surprise, when a careful reading of each of the character’s lines and actions is made.

Written by Nelsito Gomez, Anniversary follows Rob to the cemetery on his wife’s death anniversary. An older woman approaches him, sparking a conversation on regrets, grief and deep-seated beliefs.

Directed by Sarah Facuri, this play is an unusual story of romance where two strangers develop a friendship while sharing over time their painful and beautiful memories of their deceased partners. Poignantly written and romantically executed, this play opens the May Asim Pa set with a bang.

Jobert Grey Landeza’s Mommy G introduces a new family member on her 65th birthday, testing her bond with her children.

Full of scandalous surprises, this play under the masterful direction of Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan opens buried pains in a family that on the surface appears to be happy and tight-knit, challenging the age-old principles that puts a home in order.

A daughter finally pursues her dreams in Ryan Machado’s Don’t Meow for Me, Catriona. While waiting for the bus with her mother, she reflects on the complex familial love that binds and breaks families.

Director Toni Go-Yadao delivers Angelica Panganiban’s stellar theatrical debut with a heart-warming and introspective material. Challenging the thoughts that cloud our judgment, this play questions our relationships with fellow living beings, may it be a lost cat or a mother we’ve been wanting to—yet won’t dare to—let go.

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