With psychological intrigue, compelling performances, and staging that keeps the audience guessing, this theatrical production blurs the line between truth and deception. And for those captivated by the mysterious book at the heart of the story, the experience does not have to end with the final curtain.
★★★★★ | 5/5 STARS
What if the story you believe is true is actually the version someone wants you to believe?
That question lies at the heart of Jun Robles Lana’s About Us But Not About Us, a psychological drama that turns an apparently ordinary conversation into an unsettling exploration of desire, grief, manipulation, and betrayal.
For its second run, the production features Kobie Brown as Lancelot, Tuxqs Rutaquio as Eric, and Jeffrey “Epi” Quizon as Marcus. Rutaquio also directs the play, taking on the unusual challenge of guiding the production while inhabiting one of its central characters.
Presented by The IdeaFirst Company through IdeaFirst Live!, the production demonstrates how theater can make an audience do more than watch a story unfold. It can make us question what we see, reconsider what we hear, and wonder whether we have been manipulated into believing the wrong person.
And then there is Teorya ng mga Tanong—the mysterious book that gives the play another layer of intrigue and leaves audiences wanting to know more.
A Simple Conversation That Slowly Unravels
At first glance, the setting is familiar: a restaurant table, two men engaged in conversation, and the casual rhythm of an encounter that appears ordinary enough.
Lancelot and Eric establish an easy rapport, their exchanges revealing a connection that seems to go beyond the usual relationship between a student and a professor. Their conversation has moments of humor and familiarity, but beneath the banter lies an imbalance of power that makes their closeness difficult to interpret.
Is their intimacy genuine? Is one of them seeking something from the other? And how much of what they say reflects their actual feelings?
These questions become increasingly important when Marcus, Eric’s partner of 17 years, enters the picture.
Marcus is a celebrated writer whom Lancelot admires. Yet the repeated references to him introduce an undercurrent of tension. Lancelot seems careful about what he says, while his interactions with Eric suggest that there may be more at stake than either man is willing to admit.
The result feels like watching a chess match without knowing who is making the winning moves.
Every exchange becomes a possible strategy. Every pause invites speculation. And every revelation forces the audience to reconsider what it thought it understood.
The play’s greatest strength is its ability to sustain this uncertainty without losing the audience’s interest.
Staging That Deepens the Mystery
The production’s technical elements contribute significantly to its psychological atmosphere.
The rotating stage floor shifts the audience’s perspective, giving the intimate conversations a sense of movement even when the characters remain in one place. The restaurant table anchors the action, while a sliding, mesh-like panel functions as both a doorway and a visual boundary between the present and the characters’ memories.
The minimalist lighting reinforces changes in mood, gradually intensifying the feeling of emotional confinement. Projected text messages provide another layer of storytelling, allowing the audience to follow exchanges that might otherwise remain outside the immediate conversation.
Sound design also helps establish the world of the play. The clinking of utensils, distant restaurant murmurs, and tense musical textures create a believable environment without overwhelming the dialogue.
Even the use of actual food and drinks adds to the realism. The setting feels tangible, making the emotional turmoil unfolding around the table more unsettling.
These details matter because About Us But Not About Us depends on the audience’s attention to what is visible and what remains hidden. The staging does not simply decorate the story; it helps shape how we perceive it.
Three Actors, Three Perspectives on Deception
Kobie Brown takes on the challenging role of Lancelot, a character whose apparent openness gradually gives way to more troubling possibilities.
The role requires an actor to navigate shifting emotional registers, from charm and vulnerability to calculated behavior. What makes Lancelot compelling is the uncertainty surrounding his intentions. The audience must continually decide whether to trust him, question him, or reconsider its judgment altogether.
Brown’s portrayal is central to that experience, as Lancelot’s place in the story becomes increasingly complicated.
As Eric, Tuxqs Rutaquio faces a different challenge. He must portray a man caught between emotional vulnerability, unresolved grief, and the desire to preserve a particular image of himself and his relationships.
The dual responsibility of directing and acting adds another dimension to Rutaquio’s involvement in the production. Directing requires him to maintain an overall vision for the work, while performing demands that he surrender to the immediate emotional circumstances of his character.
That balancing act makes his role in the second run particularly interesting.
Jeffrey “Epi” Quizon, meanwhile, brings Marcus to life as a successful writer whose polished exterior conceals jealousy, insecurity, and accumulated resentment.
Marcus is especially compelling because his long relationship with Eric carries the weight of years of shared experiences and unresolved conflicts. Their exchanges suggest a partnership in which affection and bitterness have become difficult to separate.
When the tension finally erupts, the emotional force of the confrontation becomes one of the story’s most striking moments.
Quizon gives Marcus a distinct presence, allowing the audience to encounter him as a fully realized character rather than merely as a name repeatedly invoked by the other two men.
Together, the three characters form a triangle of conflicting perspectives. Each has a version of events, each has something to protect, and none can be understood entirely through the account of another.
Teorya ng mga Tanong: The Book That Changes Everything
The introduction of Teorya ng mga Tanong is one of the play’s most intriguing storytelling choices.
The mysterious book is more than a literary reference within the plot. It becomes a focal point for questions about authorship, intellectual ownership, truth, and betrayal.
Who owns a story? What happens when someone claims another person’s ideas as their own? And how can a convincing narrative persuade others to accept a version of events that may not be true?
These questions give the drama significance beyond the complicated relationships among its characters.
For me, the subject of intellectual ownership is particularly compelling. The possibility of stolen ideas and misappropriated work raises concerns that extend beyond the theater, especially in a world where the ability to tell a persuasive story can sometimes matter more than establishing who actually deserves credit.
Once Teorya ng mga Tanong enters the conversation, earlier scenes take on new meanings. Words that once sounded sincere become questionable. Actions that seemed harmless invite suspicion. The audience begins to wonder whether it has been watching the truth unfold or witnessing an elaborate performance designed to manipulate its sympathies.
The title About Us But Not About Us becomes more resonant, too. A story may appear to concern other people, but the act of telling it can reveal something about the storyteller—and about the audience willing to believe it.
From the Stage to the Pages: Taking the Mystery Home
One particularly exciting opportunity for theatergoers is the chance to purchase a copy of Teorya ng mga Tanong, the book at the center of the play’s story.
For audiences who leave the theater mesmerized by the book’s significance, this offers an opportunity to extend their engagement with the production beyond the performance itself.
The book becomes a tangible connection to the mystery that has unfolded onstage, inviting readers to revisit the questions that make the story so compelling.
What does the work mean within the play? Why does it matter so much to the characters? And how does its significance change the way we interpret their actions and competing claims?
These are precisely the kinds of questions that make the theatrical experience linger.
The opportunity to purchase a copy also adds an interesting dimension to the relationship between fiction and reality. A book that begins as an object within a dramatic narrative becomes something the audience can take home, examine, and associate with its own experience of the story.
Rather than leaving the mystery entirely behind when the performance ends, theatergoers can carry a piece of that intrigue with them.
For those who enjoy stories that invite interpretation and reward curiosity, this is an appealing extension of the production.
Interested theatergoers should check with the production team or venue for current book availability and purchasing arrangements.
Who Is the Real Victim?
As the revelations unfold, the audience is left to confront the play’s most uncomfortable question: Who has truly been betrayed, and who has been manipulating whom?
The conclusion leaves room for interpretation rather than resolving every uncertainty. It encourages audiences to revisit their assumptions and consider how easily a carefully constructed story can distort the truth.
This ambiguity is not a weakness. It is part of the play’s design.
In real life, too, people rarely present themselves as the villains of their own stories. They explain, justify, omit, and sometimes rewrite events to protect their reputations or advance their interests.
The most persuasive person is not necessarily the most truthful. The most vulnerable-looking individual is not automatically innocent. And a compelling story, no matter how convincing, is not proof that its narrator is right.
That is where About Us But Not About Us becomes more than a psychological drama. It becomes an examination of the ways people use stories to shape how others see them.
Some may steal what belongs to another person, manipulate those around them, or distort the truth to achieve their goals. They may even convince others that they are the ones who have been wronged.
But the play leaves us wondering whether anyone can truly escape the truth about themselves.
The Verdict: A Five-Star Theatrical Experience
About Us But Not About Us is a compelling piece of theater, combining sharp writing, psychologically layered characters, and staging that supports the story’s shifting perspectives.
Its greatest achievement is its ability to make the audience an active participant in the mystery. We are not simply watching three men negotiate complicated relationships; we are constantly evaluating their words, questioning their motives, and reconsidering our own conclusions.
The presence of Teorya ng mga Tanong makes that experience even more memorable, transforming a question of literary ownership into a broader meditation on truth, deception, and the power of storytelling.
And for those who find themselves captivated by the mysterious book, the chance to purchase a copy offers another way to engage with the world Lana has created.
Ultimately, the production reminds us that stories are powerful precisely because we want to believe them. Yet belief is not the same as truth, and the person who controls the narrative may not be the person who deserves our trust.
My verdict: Five stars out of five.
If you appreciate intelligent psychological drama, layered performances, and stories that continue to provoke questions long after the final scene, About Us But Not About Us deserves a place on your theatergoing list.
Catch the production before its limited run ends. And if Teorya ng mga Tanong leaves you wanting to know more, consider taking a copy of the book home—because some mysteries deserve a second look.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
About Us But Not About Us
– Written by: Jun Robles Lana
– Director: Tuxqs Rutaquio
– Cast: Kobie Brown as Lancelot, Tuxqs Rutaquio as Eric, and Jeffrey “Epi” Quizon as Marcus
– Presented by: The IdeaFirst Company through IdeaFirst Live!
– Venue: Power Mac Center Spotlight Black Box Theater, Circuit Makati
– Final show date: October 25, 2026
TICKETS AND SHOW INFORMATION
[The IdeaFirst Company — About Us But Not About Us Show Buyers Directory](https://theideafirstcompany.com/about-us-but-not-about-us…)
Check with the production team for the availability and purchase details of Teorya ng mga Tanong.
