Repertory Philippines Partners With UK Drama School
Repertory Philippines (REP), the country's oldest professional theater company, has been around since 1967. It has staged more than 400 productions, with the first being a Tagalog-language adaptation of Miss Julie by August Strindberg and later classic English-language plays and Broadway musicals. The 57-year-old theater company continues to elevate its resident actors' skills as it forges a partnership with Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS).
The UK drama school has produced world-class artists, including Jeremy Irons, Patrick Stewart, Daniel Day Lewis, and Olivia Colman. Filipino artists Pinky Amador, Petra Joan Athene, James Bradwell, Kirsten Foster, as well as theater director Victor Lirio have also trained and graduated from BOVTS.
About Repertory Philippines and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School's UK Conservatoire Training in Manila
Manila-based theater company REP jumpstarted its "Bridge Project" in February 2024, when it staged Harold Pinter's Betrayal with Lirio on the director's chair. The production also saw a collaboration among Manila, New York, and London-based artists.
The program offered free classes on Shakespeare's Text Rhetoric, Stanislavski-based Scene Study Work, Fundamentals on Scenic Design, and Music Composition to theater practioners in Manila. Mint College in Bonifacio Global City was part of the collaboration.
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School alum and Director Victor Lirio
More courses under REP's Bridge Project will be offered for free later this year. REP Artistic Director Jeremy Domingo, in a press statement, said: “I’m excited to launch this global initiative on my first year at REP as artistic director. We are looking forward to expanding our training institute at REP and continuing to build and bridge a collaborative theatre community for Filipino artists—in production and in training. We have quite a rejuvenated season planned for the next few years."
REP’s President and CEO, Mindy Perez-Rubio, added: “We are thrilled about this partnership and honored to be associated with Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, a prestigious institution known for providing world-class training, which can benefit many theatre practitioners in Manila. This is a tremendous opportunity for our artists here in the Philippines to continue elevating their work to global standards. With the Bridge Project, REP is committing to a multi-year training program that we will slowly expand. We will bring tutors not only for acting courses but also for designers and production arts that include stage management, scenic, lighting, and sound design courses.”
The Bridge Project by REP and BOVTS aligns with the UK drama school's dictum of bringing storytellers from across the globe "together in learning, practice, and performance," said Naomi Miller, BOVTS' Head of Development.
