40 Years of Telling Filipino Stories: Tanghalang Pilipino Turns 40
The country's national theater company celebrates four decades of Filipino theater with a season that looks back—and forward.
Words Gerie Marie Consolacion
Photos from Tanghalang Pilipino
June 26, 2026
Forty years is a long time in any industry. In theater, it is something close to a miracle. Yet here is Tanghalang Pilipin, still in the game, still filling seats, and still doing what it has always done: putting Filipino stories at the center of the stage.
Founded in 1987 as the resident theater company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Tanghalang Pilipino was built with a clear mission: to create theater rooted in Filipino culture and history, while staying open to where the world and the country is going.
Four decades later, that mission is still driving the work.
To mark the occasion, Tanghalang Pilipino has themed its 40th Theater Season PAST FORWARD—a name that does two things at once. It asks us to remember and it asks us to keep moving.
What Is Tanghalang Pilipino, exactly?
For those who may not be as familiar, Tanghalang Pilipino is not just any theater group. It is the National Performing Arts Company for Theater, which means it carries a responsibility beyond putting up shows. It is tasked with developing Filipino theater as an art form, in the Filipino language, for Filipino audiences.
One of the things that sets TP apart is its Actors Company.
A group of actors whose full-time training is supported by the company itself. These are not part-time performers juggling multiple gigs. They are trained, developed, and nurtured within the company.
Over the years, many of TP's Actors Company alumni have gone on to become some of the most recognized faces in Philippine television, film, and advertising.
TP also runs regular theater education and training programs in acting, directing, playwriting, and production management that is also open to students, theater enthusiasts, corporate clients, and working professionals. It is, in many ways, both a creative institution and a school.
To date, Tanghalang Pilipino has mounted more than 274 full productions across 39 theater seasons. It has performed not just at the CCP, but in non-traditional spaces, in the provinces, and in cities abroad with large Filipino communities.
Past Forward: What the Season is Really Asking
The TP40 theme is more than a catchy title for the anniversary. It is a genuine question. How do we honor what came before while making sure theater stays alive and meaningful for the people watching now—and the people who will be watching 40 years from now?
The season weaves together history and innovation, memory and imagination, heritage and progress. These are not just talking points. You can see them in the actual lineup.
The Lineup: Four Shows, One Big Idea
Farewell, Let's Go to the South | July 10–11, 2026 | Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, CCP
The season opens with something genuinely rare: a live intercultural collaboration between three Asian theater companies. Assignment Theater of Taiwan, Space Theater of Korea, and Tanghalang Pilipino come together for a one-weekend-only run.
The show traces the final thoughts of Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara and South Korean labor activist Jeon Tae-il brought to life through movement, imagery, and a live cello. For the Philippine leg of this Asian tour, TP actors weave in the voice of Filipino revolutionary poet Emmanuel "Eman" Lacaba through selections from his Salvaged Poems.
Directed by Chung Chiao, with TP's own Fernando “Nanding” Josef and Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan in the cast. Tickets price is from P1,500 for VIP and P1,000 for the Regular ticket.
Sayaw ng mga Ilaw | September 18 – October 11, 2026 | Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, CCP
Based on Cheeno Marlo Sayuno's award-winning children's book. An International Board on Books for Young People honouree, this movement-based theater piece is aimed at young audiences. It follows young Laya, who dreams of learning the traditional Pandanggo dance.
But when her father, a construction worker, fails to come home, the family is thrown into grief and uncertainty. The story is about loss, but more than that, it is about finding light again in family, in dance, in love.
Playwright Juan Ekis adapts the book; Jonathan P. Tadioan directs; and the cast includes the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company alongside Wincess Jem Yana and Annika Co alternating as Laya. Tickets price is from P2,000 for VIP and P1,800 for the Regular tickets.
Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical | November 13–29, 2026 | Proscenium Theater, Rockwell, Makati
This one is already a known quantity, and for good reason. After successful runs in 2025 and 2026—and eight nominations at the 16th Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards, including Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Musical, Gregoria Lakambini comes back for more.
The P-Pop musical tells the story of Gregoria de Jesus: the woman from Caloocan who became the Lakambini of the Katipunan, standing beside Andres Bonifacio in love and revolution. It is loud, it is energetic, and it is exactly the kind of show that reminds you why live theater matters.
Written by Nicanor Tiongson and Eljay Castro Deldoc, directed by Delphine Buencamino, and starring Marynor Madamesila as Gregoria. In cooperation with FlipMusic Productions Inc. Ticket price is ranging from P1,500 to P3,000.
Ricardo Segundo | February 19 – March 21, 2027 | Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, CCP
The season closes with Shakespeare, but not as you might expect it.
Guelan Varela-Luarca translates and directs William Shakespeare's Richard II in Filipino, asking the questions the play has always asked: What is power, and who really holds it? The play follows a king—corrupt, vindictive, and incompetent—whose grip on authority begins to slip, leading to a fierce power struggle and the rise of a new ruler.
With themes of legitimacy, leadership, and the consequences of poor governance, it lands differently in a Philippine context. Marco Viaña leads as Haring Ricardo II, with Fernando “Nanding” Josef as Juan de Gante, Jonathan Tadioan as Duke ng York, and Earvin Estioco as Enrique Bolingbroke. Ticket price is P2,000 for VIP and P1,800 for the Regular one.
And Then There's the Concert
In May 2027, Tanghalang Pilipino will close out its 40th anniversary with a concert at the CCP Main Theater—the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.
Titled TP40: Life Begins!, it is billed as a tribute to the playwrights, directors, actors, designers, musicians, and theater makers who have shaped TP's stages over four decades. Expect special performances and collaborations that celebrate the company's legacy while looking ahead.
Details are still forthcoming, but it is already shaping up to be the kind of night you will want to be there for.
A Company Worth Paying Attention To
It is easy to take an institution like Tanghalang Pilipino for granted. It has been around for so long that it can feel like part of the furniture.
But this anniversary is a good moment to step back and recognize what it actually represents: a company that has held the line for Filipino-language theater for 40 years, that has trained generations of performers, and that has consistently brought ambitious work to Philippine stages—from original Filipino plays to translations and adaptations from across Asia and the world.
The artistic direction has passed through several hands—founding Artistic Director Nonon Padilla (1987–2002), Herbert Go (2002–2006), Dennis Marasigan (2006–2008), and now Fernando C. Josef, who continues to lead the company through its 39th and now 40th season. Each has left their mark.
Past Forward is a good theme for a company like this. Because the past is not a burden Tanghalang Pilipino is dragging along, it is a foundation they keep building on.
Get your TP40 Season Pass and catch all four productions this season through this link: https://bit.ly/TP40SeasonPass.
