The Pleiades Theatre anniversary season of readings begins with a revisiting of People Power in October with Carlos Bulosan Theatre (CBT).

People Power (Leon Aureus, Rose Cortez, Nicco Lorenzo Garcia, Christine Mangosing, Nadine Villasin) premiered in 2006 as a commemoration and celebration of the events of EDSA1, also known as the People Power revolution in 1986 that ended the Marcos dictatorship, martial law and saw the restoration of democratic institutions after 13 years of totalitarian rule in the Philippines. Thirty-six years later, in May 2022, the deposed dictator’s son, Bong Bong Marcos was elected by an overwhelming majority as the 17th President of the Republic, despite initial strong showings from the favoured candidate, former Vice-President Leni Robredo. “There was disbelief and disappointment among many in our community,” says Leon Aureus, Artistic Producer at CBT. “It felt like an alternate reality when Marcos ultimately won. We were questioning what made people forget all that history and that struggle for democracy. How does someone, whose family is still being investigated for stealing billions of pesos from the Philippines, get elected and become president?”