Arts & Culture (11/05/25)

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Jonathan Olazo pays homage to Monet

JONATHAN OLAZO’S latest art exhibition, Light Receptacle Café, is a reimagining of French master Claude Monet’s devotion to light and time, filtered through contemporary Filipino lens. The show, exhibited at the Alliance Française de Manille, is curated by his wife, painter and conservator Lyn Yusi-Olazo. The exhibition invites visitors to experience light not just as a subject, but as a metaphor. Light Receptacle Café is ongoing until Nov. 15 at the Alliance Française de Manille, 209 Nicanor Garcia St., Bel-Air II, Makati City.

Tanghalang Pilipino presents heroic musical on Gregoria de Jesus

TANGHALANG PILIPINO’S newest production for its 39th season is a groundbreaking original musical that reimagines the life of revolutionary Gregoria de Jesus through the sound of Pinoy pop music. With music by Nica del Rosario and Matthew Chang, and a book by Nicanor Tiongson and Eljay Deldoc, the show stars Marynor Madamesila and is directed by Delphine Buencamino. It will run from Nov. 10 to Dec. 14, with performances at 3 and 8 p.m., at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Black Box Theater), CCP Complex, Pasay City. VIP tickets cost P2,000 while regular tickets are P1,800.

Teatro Meron to stage Ang Medea

TEATRO MERON is presenting Ang Medea, a restaging of Euripides’ classic, translated into Filipino by the late National Artist for Theater Rolando S. Tinio. Fresh from last year’s sold-out run, this production returns with a cast of theater veterans led by Miren Alvarez-Fabregas as Medea, with Teroy Guzman, Yan Yuzon, Bryan Sy, Joseph dela Cruz, Katski Flores, Gold Soon, Pickles Leonidas, and Joel Macaventa. The director is Ron Capinding, founder and artistic director of Teatro Meron. Performances run from Nov. 13 to 28 at the Special Exhibition Hall of The Mind Museum, Bonifacio Global City. Tickets and schedules are available via Ticket2Me.

Intramuros Evenings presents La Voix Humaine

LA VOIX HUMAINE is the third offering in the Intramuros Evenings series, featuring pianist Raul Sunico and the USTSO Chamber Orchestra conducted by Herminigildo Ranera. The performance starts with Francis Poulenc’s Aubade, performed by Mr. Sunico and the USTSO Chamber Orchestra, which will be followed by Poulenc’s one-act opera La Voix Humaine, based on Jean Cocteau’s play, starring soprano Armela Fortuna. It will be held on Nov. 14, 7 p.m., at the Centro de Turismo, Intramuros, Manila. While admission is free, seats are limited.

PPO season continues with Virtuoso

THE Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) season continues with its fourth concert, Virtuoso, under the direction of Grzegorz Nowak. The evening opens with Mozart’s Don Giovanni Overture, followed by Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” featuring pianist Mark Bebbington. The concert concludes with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition in the Gorchakov arrangement. The concert will be on Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m., at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, Circuit, Makati. Tickets range in price from P800 to P3,000.

RMAF, DLS-CSB present exhibit on plastic pollution

THE Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF), in partnership with the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), is currently displaying the Alon exhibit at the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Manila. Focused on the issue of plastic waste in the oceans, Alon is RMAF’s first foray into a large-scale art installation. Originally mounted by DLS-CSB’s Center for Campus Art in 2019, it features surfers from six surfing camps around the Philippines, holding in their hands the scourge of beaches, rivers, and oceans — plastic. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, also sets the stage for the Ramon Magsaysay Awards Festival Week from Nov. 4 to 7, featuring public events that honor this year’s awardees. All events will be livestreamed on RMAF’s official Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Exploding Galaxies’ e.g. journal drops 5th issue

ISSUE FIVE of the e.g. journal features “Mga Alamat sa Bayan ng Sagrada” (Legends of Sagrada), a story by Alvin Yapan, with an English translation by Christian Benitez and art by Czar Kristoff. It explores the otherworldly town of Sagrada, a place haunted by death and the unknown. It also discusses the act of translation itself, which this issue of the e.g. journal centers on. For more information, visit the Exploding Galaxies’ website.

4 artists interpret a year in abstract at Galerie Joaquin

THE exhibit The Gifts of the Changing Seasons is ongoing at Galerie Joaquin Rockwell. It brings together four abstract painters — Patrick Esmao, Perfecto Palero, Jr., Joan Palero, and Ricky Francisco — to meditate on impermanence, renewal, and the cycles that shape both nature and the self. Using the poetic metaphor of the seasons, the exhibition reflects on the inevitability of change, and on how each phase of life offers its own distinct grace. It runs until Nov. 14. Galerie Joaquin Rockwell is located at the R3 Level, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City.

Dulaang UP prepares twin bill for Tony Mabesa

A TWIN BILL, titled Para Kay Tony: Tungo sa Ginintuang Alaala, featuring classic plays will pay homage to Dulaang UP founder and National Artist for Theater Antonio “Tony” Mabesa. The first half is a staging of Kalahating Oras sa Isang Kumbento by Filipino playwright Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero as translated by Lilia F. Antonio. The story follows Yolanda, a student at a convent school, who seeks comfort and companionship after being expelled. University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Theatre Arts student Lloyd Sarmiento Uy serves as director. The second play features National Artist Rolando Tinio’s May Katwiran ang Katwiran, about Senyor, a wealthy haciendero who persuades his servant to join him on a journey across the mountains. The staging is directed by Theatre Arts student MJ Briones. The production will run from Nov. 14 to 30 at the IBG-KAL Theater, UP Diliman.

Martie Datu holds 5th solo show at ArtistSpace

VISUAL ARTIST Martie Datu is holding her 5th solo exhibition at ArtistSpace in Makati. Titled Becoming Us, the show is a personal collection of her recent paintings that serve as a return to childhood. Each canvas aims to be an echo of beginnings, a reminder that we are always, in some way, still becoming. The show runs until Nov. 17 at ArtistSpace, located in the Ayala Museum Annex, Greenbelt Park, Makati City.

Hamlet shows in cinemas

THE Cultural Center of the Philippines’ National Theatre Live series featuring filmed stage productions, presents Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role of yet another great Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet. It will be presented on Nov. 25, 6 p.m., at the Ayala Vertis North – Quezon City and Ayala Central Bloc Cebu. Tickets at Vertis cost P350 and P150, while those in Cebu cost P300 and P150.

Jesus Christ Superstar coming to Manila in May 2026

FOLLOWING several acclaimed and sold-out runs in London as well as an extensive tour of North America, the UK, and Australia, the Olivier Award-winning reimagined production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s celebrated musical Jesus Christ Superstar will visit Manila at The Theatre at Solaire from May 2 to 24, 2026, as part of a major international tour. The production was reimagined by London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, where it originated, and is helmed by director Timothy Sheader and choreographer Drew McOnie. It explores the biblical portrayal of the events that led to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of his betrayer, Judas Iscariot. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles among Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ disciples, his followers, and the Roman Empire. Tickets go on sale on Nov. 8 exclusively via TicketWorld.