Internationally acclaimed Filipino theatre artist Lea Salonga takes on one of literature’s most formidable matriarchs in Theatre Group Asia’s upcoming Filipino-language production.
MANILA, Philippines — Lea Salonga is set to return to the Philippine stage in a dramatic new production of Federico García Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, titled Ang Tahanan ni Bernarda Alba, scheduled for February 2027.
Salonga will portray Bernarda Alba, the imposing matriarch at the center of Lorca’s celebrated drama.
The production is presented by Theatre Group Asia (TGA) and will be staged at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater.
According to the production materials, Ang Tahanan ni Bernarda Alba is a new adaptation by Chay Yew, translated into Filipino by Guelan Varela-Luarca.
The poster prominently announces:
“LEA SALONGA AY SI BERNARDA ALBA”
A Filipino-language take on a theatrical classic
Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba centers on Bernarda Alba, a widowed mother who imposes strict rules over her household and daughters. As tensions rise inside the home, the family’s carefully controlled world begins to unravel.
For its Philippine staging, the work will be presented in Filipino, bringing Lorca’s themes of authority, family, social expectations, repression and freedom into a language and theatrical context more immediately accessible to Filipino audiences.
The production credits identify Federico García Lorca as the original playwright, Chay Yew as the adaptor and Guelan Varela-Luarca as the Filipino translator.
Lea Salonga steps into a demanding dramatic role
Salonga is internationally recognized for her work in musical theatre and for her extensive stage career. Her casting as Bernarda Alba, however, places her in a dramatic role drawn from one of the most enduring works of 20th-century Spanish theatre.
As Bernarda, she will portray a mother whose determination to maintain order inside her home becomes central to the unfolding family conflict.
The role also brings Salonga into a production that places Filipino language and contemporary adaptation at the forefront, rather than simply presenting Lorca’s work in its original form.
Coming February 2027
Ang Tahanan ni Bernarda Alba is scheduled for February 2027 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater.
