PETA’s ‘Control + Shift’ interrogates power, complicity onstage and off

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April 14, 2026 | 5:30pm

MANILA, Philippines — Theater in the Philippines has long served as a platform for storytelling rooted in social reality, shaping narratives that question systems, reflect lived conditions and invite reflection.

Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) continues this tradition with the return of "Control + Shift : Changing Narratives" festival that opened last April 10 at PETA Studio Theater in Quezon City. 

The Control+Shift StudioLab features a four-production series of works still in development, created through collaborations. The program is divided into thematic sets: Set A, “When Power Falls Into Our Hands,” and Set B, “When Care Becomes Survival,” reframing familiar situations to surface questions of power, responsibility and participation.

‘Cleaners’

The first set opens with "Cleaners," written by Jhudiel Clare Sosa and directed by Julio Garcia. 

"Cleaners" is set in a familiar classroom, where graduating students follow a simple rule — “Ang hindi malinis, ililigpit.” But as the situation spirals, the task becomes impossible to resolve, even as they keep trying to comply upon discovering something unexpected.

It leans into dark comedy, with plenty of funny moments as the group bickers, negotiates tasks, and deals with each other’s quirks, but more than the humor, the material mirrors real systems where rules are imposed from above, and labels, “dumi” in this case, are projected by those able to deflect responsibility while those below are left to deal with the consequences. 

The play captures how people manage pressure within such systems, before realizing the problem may not be solvable at all, and that the rules themselves and the ones who make them may need to be questioned from the start.

‘Monit-oh, Monit-ah’

The second piece, ‘Monit-oh, Monit-ah!,’ shifts the setting from school to the workplace. Written by Herlyn Alegre and directed by Norbs Portales, the forum theater work follows Jaylord (Moi Gealogo), a rookie waiter at “Casa de Bola” who joins the company’s Christmas monito-monita exchange in the spirit of pakikisama, while also trying to cope with his mother’s hospitalization.

What begins as a familiar workplace tradition becomes complicated when Jaylord discovers unexpected conditions tied to the exchange gift, including the option to swap draws to get his boss, exposing underlying corruption within the office system.

Unlike 'Cleaners,' ‘Monit-oh, Monit-ah!’ is more openly interactive. As a forum theater piece, it invites the audience to step in and suggest or test different choices as the story unfolds. This participatory format is what gives the play its impact as it extends responsibility to the audience. 

Instead of simply watching Jaylord navigate the system, viewers are asked to intervene and decide what “doing the right thing” looks like in real time. But the challenge lies in the limits of that participation — how far can you push a character toward “correct” choices when those decisions exist within real constraints: a precarious job, a mother in hospital, and a system shaped by institutional corruption that leaves little room to act freely.

A needed 'banlaw' session

What links the two plays is how systems become normalized. In both, people are not simply victims or villains, but individuals trying to get by within structures that shape their responses, whether through compliance or disruption. 

"Control + Shift" extends this beyond the stage through post-show discussions, or “banlaw,” a necessary space where audiences reflect, discuss and “wash through” their thoughts after the performance, articulating reactions and making sense of the narratives raised onstage.

On opening night, this exchange was especially palpable with a packed audience of sharp young viewers, whose reactions ranged from idealism to cynicism as they connected the stories to lived realities in the country today.

At its core, "Control + Shift" returns to its intent of changing narratives. A story holds attention, but a narrative shapes how people see and understand the world. By inviting audiences to watch, respond, and talk back, the experience moves beyond consumption into participation, bringing them into the process of shaping and shifting narratives, not just observing them.

"Control + Shift" Set A has two remaining shows on April 18 at 7 p.m. and April 19 at 7 p.m. Set B, featuring "At Nagkatawang-Tao ang Verbo" and "Baga ng Gumuguhong Langit," also runs on April 18 at 2 p.m. and April 19 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are priced at P700, which covers access to both shows in a set.

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