#TheaterPH - Lola Basyang Returns: How PETA Is Reimagining Folklore for a Digital Generation
Think back to the first time you heard a story that made you believe in magic. Maybe it was told by a grandparent, maybe it was passed around in school, or maybe it was one of those tales that seemed to live in the air of childhood itself. For generations of Filipinos, that storyteller has always been Lola Basyang—the grandmother figure who spun Severino Reyes’ timeless tales in the pages of Liwayway Magazine. And now, more than a century later, she’s stepping back onto the stage, refreshed and reimagined for today’s young audiences.
From September 21 to 30, 2026, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) is reviving Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang at iba pa… at the PETA Theater Center, with a longer run scheduled for February 2027. It’s not just a revival—it’s a reinvention. Alongside two beloved classics adapted by Christine Bellen (Ang Prinsipeng Mahaba ang Ilong and Ang Binibining Tumalo sa Hari), the production introduces a brand-new story by J-mee Katanyag: Ang Bantay ng Huling Buwan.
This addition is more than just another tale. It bridges folklore with the realities of modern childhood. Through Uriel, a curious girl navigating phones, vlogs, and digital culture, the story explores fear, misinformation, and collective action. It’s Lola Basyang meeting the age of social media, proving that myths can still speak powerfully to kids growing up in a world of screens and algorithms.
Christine Bellen, whose adaptations first graced the stage in 2005, captures the essence of why Lola Basyang endures: “Laging may bago sa bawat paglabas ni Lola Basyang sa entablado… bukal siya tuwina ng harayang mapagpalaya.” Each retelling isn’t just repetition—it’s renewal, a chance to let imagination breathe differently for each generation.
Phil Noble returns to direct the full-length revival, joined by a creative team that includes Gio Gahol, Julio Garcia, Carlo Pagunaling, Kabaitan Bautista, Noel Cabangon, and Satya Edilo. The cast features Kiki Baento and CB Garrucho as Lola Basyang, with a lineup of performers who bring Reyes’ characters to life with humor, courage, and heart. For the excerpt version, directed by Maribel Legarda, the production takes on a more flexible format, designed for schools and communities, with puppetry and interactive staging that invite children to participate directly.
And that’s the magic of this revival: it’s not just theater you watch—it’s theater you join. Lola Basyang breaks the fourth wall, asks questions, listens to children, and lets them help solve challenges alongside the characters. It’s storytelling as play, as dialogue, as a shared act of imagination.
For Noble, the challenge is clear: how do you make live theater exciting for kids who live on screens? His answer is to immerse them in a world that feels alive, unpredictable, and participatory. “I want them to discover another kind of world—the world of live theater,” he says. “To open themselves to other possibilities, to immerse themselves in the stories, and to become part of the magical world of Lola B.”
That’s what makes this revival more than nostalgia. It’s a reminder that stories live because they evolve. They speak differently to each generation, but they always carry the same heartbeat: courage, wisdom, imagination, and the joy of listening together.
In the end, Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang at iba pa… isn’t just about retelling old tales. It’s about creating a space where children and adults can meet, imagine, and question together. It’s about proving that even in the age of AI and TikTok, live theater can still be magical, still be relevant, and still be the place where stories remind us who we are.
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