As history grows vulnerable to distortion and erasure, Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (Dulaang UP) turns once again to Dr. José Rizal. For its 49th Theatre Season, the company poses a central question: “Paano Umalala nang may Pag-alaga?” — How do we remember with care?
Marking 130 years since Rizal’s death, the season breathes new life into Noli Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo. Rather than simple adaptations, these productions ignite Rizal’s novels into living dialogues where memory is tested and propelled forward.
Building on the foundation of founding Artistic Director and National Artist Tony Mabesa, two acclaimed directors reimagine these foundational texts through modern struggles, framing history as an ongoing story.
The Stage as a Living Archive
Dulaang UP’s 49th Season transforms the stage into a living archive. While books and classrooms can isolate memory, theatre lets history move among us. Through embodied storytelling, actors and audiences feel the pulse of national narratives as the stage becomes a space where memory is interrogated and reborn.
This approach stresses the ongoing relevance of Rizal’s works. His novels exposed colonial wounds—corruption, abuse, inequality, and apathy—that still afflict the Philippines. While the faces of power shift, the fight against exploitation endures. Figures like Doña Victorina and corrupt friars mirror modern political scheming, institutional rot, and hoarded power.
Revisiting Reform, Revolution, and Responsibility
At the heart of both novels are enduring questions about societal change. In Noli Me Tángere, Crisostomo Ibarra embodies the drive for education and reform—a message vital for a public navigating modern misinformation and revisionism. Meanwhile, Simoun’s radical shift in El Filibusterismo reflects the fallout when peaceful change fails, forcing us to confront rage, violence, and the cost of freedom.
Together, these works challenge Filipinos to reject passivity and actively build a fairer future.
Fiestas y Muertos
Opening the season is Fiestas y Muertos, directed by José Estrella and based on National Artist Virgilio S. Almario’s translation of Noli Me Tángere. Estrella contrasts colonial San Diego’s public celebrations with the decay beneath them. The production exposes how lavish festivals mask poverty and corruption, turning the novel into a meditation on survival, loss, and power.
Nitrogliserina
Following Fiestas y Muertos is Nitrogliserina, directed by Dexter M. Santos, featuring a new script by Guelan Varela-Luarca inspired by El Filibusterismo. Rather than a straightforward retelling, the play charts an alternate path, asking: What if the story we received isn’t the one we need? Nitrogliserina probes the raw conflicts of revolution, the perils of unleashed power, and the struggle of rebuilding from ruin.
Remembering Through Action
Dulaang UP’s 49th Season keeps Rizal from becoming a static artifact, bringing his voice directly into the present. Memory requires active reflection; through theatre, Rizal’s questions urge us to face the past, grasp the present, and shape what comes next. Fiestas y Muertos runs from October to November 2026, followed by Nitrogliserina from February to March 2027 at the IBG-KAL Theatre, UP Diliman.
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