Miss Manila, a new reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, pits passion versus pressure inside a Chinese-Filipino household under the Marcos Sr. regime. Written and directed by GK Diola, Miss Manila runs on May 1–3, 2026.
Performance Schedule:
May 1, 7:00 PM
May 2, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM
May 3, 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM
Set in 1975 Binondo, Miss Manila follows Julie (Jien Santiago), a frustrated beauty queen trapped in an arranged marriage. She risks her family’s reputation when a forbidden romance sparks between her and the family driver, Juan (Johnny B. Maglinao). Completing Strindberg’s trio is the maid Crising (Vea Noroña), whose watchful gaze heightens the tension of the illicit affair. This adaptation also introduces Julie’s parents, Susan (Pia Viola) and Wilson (Warren Ty), along with her fiancé Gerson (Giles Ashby).
Members of the artistic team include Anson Yu (cultural consultant), Cherry Ann Li (language consultant), Serena Magiliw (intimacy direction), Ayessa Ejercito (technical direction), Ohm David (set design), Sage Ilagan (sound design), Rochelle Sandigan (costume design), and Perine Nyssa Bianzon (lighting design).
Co-presented by Platform Playhouse and UP Dulaang Laboratoryo, Miss Manila concludes the Chinoy Chismis Trilogy, a year-long initiative by Diola to immerse, research, and collaborate with Tsinoy artists after his 2024 adaptation of Miss Julie, which audiences felt was culturally inaccurate.
The first installment, Corporate Affairs (May 2025), was a site-specific performance set inside a Pasay office space, examining how differences between Chinese and Filipino working cultures seep into personal lives. The second, Wah-kong Anak Na Ganyan! (November 2025), blended theatre and improv inside a Greenhills restobar to explore how shame and gossip manifest in public spaces.
Rather than depicting the physical violence of the time, this final entry dramatizes the cultural manifestations of Martial Law: families and servants pressured to project beauty and wealth, while a widening class divide intensifies private conflicts.
The trilogy serves as Diola’s undergraduate thesis (Theatre 200), advised by Mr. Jonas Gabriel M. Garcia and Asst. Prof. Robert Arlou B. De Guzman, and doubles as Jien Santiago’s creative project for Theatre 133 (Directed Studies in Theatre Acting), advised by Asst. Prof. Olivia Kristine D. Nieto.
For updates, follow Platform Playhouse on Facebook and Instagram (@platformplayhouse).
Tickets are available via Google Forms: (bit.ly/missmanilaupd)
Regular: Php 500
Student / PWD / Seniors: Php 350
