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Theater review: Tanghalang Ateneo's ‘Emilia’ reclaims silenced voice with urgency, fire

Fred Hawson

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776329405413669321177_1452568186882956_3583934353812372085_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="A scene from &#x27;Emilia.&#x27; Tanghalang Ateneo/Facebook"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A scene from &#x27;Emilia.&#x27; <em>Tanghalang Ateneo/Facebook</em></span></span></span></div><p>Emilia Bassano Lanier (Chloe Abella, Francesca dela Cruz, Maliana Beran) was a talented writer and poet. Unfortunately, she was born during a time in history when women were looked down upon in society. Her drive to get her written works published was developed when she was raised in the household of Countess Susan Bertie (Iman Rahima) and later Mrs. Margaret Clifford (Nicole Sintor Chua), who both promoted the value of education for women. </p><p>Several men came in and out of her life. She became the mistress of Lord Henry Carey (Joy delos Santos), but when she got pregnant, he married her off to his cousin Alphonso Lanier (Bea Racoma), a musician who would rather go off with his friends than stay home with her. She then met a promising young playwright at the Globe Theater named William Shakespeare (Chantei Cortez), who swept her off her feet by sharing her flair with words.   </p><p>&quot;Emilia&quot; is a play written by female British playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, first staged in 2018 at Shakespeare&#x27;s Globe theater in London. This current Tanghalang Ateneo production followed suit in its all-female direction and casting, but went further and adapted Malcolm&#x27;s play into elegant Filipino. This Filipino script, written by Gab Mactal, Meeka Sayaboc, and Keith Bernas, was a formidable work of translation — so deep and complex. </p><p>Three actresses shared the role of Emilia — Abella during her days as a student, Dela Cruz during her days as a rebel, and Beran during her days as an advocate — three different personalities of this one person as she learned more about herself and her talent. This unique split-style presentation the lead character may not be clearly grasped at first, but once you get into its groove, you&#x27;d see how ingeniously done this was. </p><p>The actresses playing the male characters were distinguished by wearing pants and some had ruff collars around their necks. Racoma&#x27;s Lanier was a worthless cad at first, but later turned out to be a good partner. Cortez&#x27;s Shakespeare was a swoon-worthy lover boy at first, but later turned out to an opportunistic leech. Delos Santos&#x27;s Lord Henry Carey was a supportive nobleman, as her Lord Thomas Howard was a major misogynistic creep. </p><p>Rahima&#x27;s Susan Bertie and Chua&#x27;s Mrs. Margaret, along with Andie Manlusoc&#x27;s Ms. Anne, represented the supportive confidence of the forward-thinking women of that day. Patricia Anne Panganiban&#x27;s Katherine would seem to Emilia&#x27;s &quot;frenemy&quot; of sorts, an interesting and puzzling character. Petes Castillo literally stood out of the ensemble because of her tall gangly stature, but she also got her moment at the end as the tragic Eva.</p><p>The rest of the ensemble includes PM Oliveros (as Flora and the Midwife who assisted Emilia in give birth to her two children), Bienne Dator (as Maria and Mary Sidney), Ara Mariano (as Emilia&#x27;s mother Margaret Johnson and Lord Howard) Camille Samson (as Dave and Lord Collins) and Gabrielle Stephanie Tano (as Ms. Helena and Emilia in the &quot;Othello&quot; play).</p><p>However, the direction by Sarah Facuri and her lively cast made the voluminous, serious material come alive with such engaging energy sustained through its 2-1/2 hour running time. We completely see the injustice Emilia had to endure and fully support her advocacy for female agency. This was set in Elizabethan times, and women have come a long way since then in terms of equality, but we recognize that misogyny still exists and must not be tolerated.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17763294497331000097063.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="The three Emilias take a bow (L-R) Chloe Abella, Maliana Beran, and Francesca dela Cruz. Fred Hawson"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The three Emilias take a bow (L-R) Chloe Abella, Maliana Beran, and Francesca dela Cruz. <em>Fred Hawson</em></span></span></span></div><div><em>Tanghalang Ateneo&#x27;s ‘Emilia’ runs until April 26 at the Rizal Mini Theater in the Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City.</em></div><div><br/></div><p>This review was originally published in the author&#x27;s blog, “<a href="https://3xhcch.blogspot.com/2026/04/ta-review-of-emilia-asserting-authorship.html">Fred Said</a>.”</p>

<p>A vibrant all-female production, ‘Emilia’ transforms a silenced woman’s story into a powerful, inventive piece of feminist theater.</p>

A vibrant all-female production, ‘Emilia’ transforms a silenced woman’s story into a powerful, inventive piece of feminist theater.