Vlad Bunoan

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Shorts & Briefs

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758870138632550861291_1318799453370203_8109541003135200324_n.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The team behind this year&#x27;s Shorts &amp; Briefs theater festival. Eksena PH/Facebook"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The team behind this year&#x27;s Shorts &amp; Briefs theater festival. <em>Eksena PH/Facebook</em></span></span></span>Now on its 11th year, Shorts &amp; Briefs by Eksena PH has quietly been nurturing a space for first-time playwrights, directors, designers, and performers to test their mettle onstage. This year marked my first encounter with the festival, staged at Café Shylo — a cozy showroom-turned-performance space with a bar on the side, making the whole experience feel casual, intimate, and unpretentious.</div><p>The format is straightforward: a lineup of short plays, usually 10 to 15 minutes each, presented as a kind of “Virgin Labfest Lite.” The twist this season is its “By Night” theme, which leans into R-18 territory with adults-only narratives, sexual humor, coarse language and the occasional provocative gag. That irreverent quality is not surprising: when you only have minutes to tell a story, many lean into sketch comedy, parody, or camp — and the audience happily goes along for the ride.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758870208735552081955_1320538869862928_1783106327291802929_n.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A scene from &#x27;Warla Academy.&#x27; Eksena PH/Facebook"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A scene from &#x27;Warla Academy.&#x27; <em>Eksena PH/Facebook</em></span></span></span>The clear crowd favorite was Tanghalin G. Tapat’s “Warla Arena,” a bawdy spoof of TV talk shows like “Face to Face” directed by Tom Navarro and star-powered by drag artist Salmo Nella in a riotous theater debut. Its love triangle — featuring a couple and their AI sex robot — was both ridiculous and perfectly pitched for this kind of festival. </div><p>Lewor Sotis’ “Reklamasyon Headquarters” also scored laughs with its creative costumes for talking sex organs, leaning into absurdity without apology.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758870317177550496982_1320538896529592_3397855205844386624_n-1.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A scene from &#x27;Reklamasyon Headquarters.&#x27; Eksena PH/Facebook"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A scene from &#x27;Reklamasyon Headquarters.&#x27; <em>Eksena PH/Facebook</em></span></span></span>Some plays pushed the format further. John Custer’s “Ang Babae at ang Mangga” used lighting tricks and fog effects to stage a bizarre yet funny romance between a liberated woman and a prudish manananggal. </div><p>On the other end of the spectrum, Francis Panes’ “Josefino at ang Estatwa” — about a sculptor’s affection for a statue — gestured toward surreal drama but felt too slight to land its concept within the time limit. </p><p>More successful was Jeremi Flores’ “Sh*t,” the directorial debut of theater actor Phi Palmos, which grounded an unsettling fetish tale into a believable relationship of a gay couple raising an infant. The tension and restraint made it quietly memorable.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758870361756552320059_1320538899862925_6566061489597826277_n.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A scene from &#x27;Sh*t.&#x27; Eksena PH/Facebook"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A scene from &#x27;Sh*t.&#x27; <em>Eksena PH/Facebook</em></span></span></span>True to its mission, Shorts &amp; Briefs thrives not on polish but on experimentation. You don’t come here for perfection; you come to witness risks, surprises, and hopefully the beginnings of voices that might one day grow into fixtures of Philippine theater. In just two hours, the festival offers laughter, provocation, and discovery — all while reminding audiences why a safe space for new creators is always worth supporting.</div><p>Shorts &amp; Briefs is a scrappy and funny sampler plate of local theater — best enjoyed with an open mind and maybe a drink in hand.</p><div><br/></div><div><em>Shorts &amp; Briefs runs until October 5 at Cafe Shylo, Pasig City.</em></div>

<p>Now on its 11th year, Eksena PH’s Shorts &amp; Briefs festival embraces boldness in short form, offering audiences two hours of irreverent fun and probably a glimpse at tomorrow’s theater voices.</p>

Now on its 11th year, Eksena PH’s Shorts & Briefs festival embraces boldness in short form, offering audiences two hours of irreverent fun and probably a glimpse at tomorrow’s theater voices.

Review: Shorts & Briefs serves theater in bite-sized, risk-taking doses

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Review: Shorts & Briefs serves theater in bite-sized, risk-taking doses

Vlad Bunoan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 26, 2025 03:13 PM PHT

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Updated Sep 26, 2025 03:21 PM PHT

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Eksena PH

Shorts & Briefs

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