‘El Fuego del Alma’ runs July 17–19, July 31, August 1–2, and August 21–23 at Sine Pop, Cubao, Quezon City.
There are stories that travel easily across borders. There are still others that reveal something new each time they are told. For the artists behind El Fuego del Alma, Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke belongs to both.
Poster of Porvenir’s ‘El Fuego de Alma’
This July and August, Porvenir presents El Fuego del Alma (The Fire of the Soul), a full intimate found-space production adapted by playwright Eljay Castro Deldoc and directed by Mark Mirando. To be staged at Sine Pop in Cubao, the production reimagines Williams’ 1948 play within a provincial Philippine setting, exploring questions of desire, faith, repression, and longing through a distinctly Filipino lens.
At the center of the story is Alma Ortega, a woman whose spiritual convictions and emotional desires pull her in opposite directions. Raised within a world of propriety and expectation, Alma struggles to reconcile the life she believes she should live with the life she secretly longs for.
For Deldoc, the goal was never to reproduce the American South. “Our goal was never to imitate Tennessee Williams,” he says. “We wanted to discover what remained when the story was placed inside a Filipino context.”
The adaptation asks whether the emotional distances explored by Williams are universal. The conflict between duty and desire, faith and intimacy, silence and expression are questions that continue to resonate in Filipino families and communities.
‘We wanted to create a version of this story that feels close to home’—Mark Mirando
“We wanted to create a version of this story that feels close to home,” says director Mark Mirando. ‘El Fuego del Alma’ runs July 17–19, July 31, Aug. 1–2, and Aug. 21–23, 2026 at Sine Pop, Cubao, Quezon City. “Alma’s longing, her restraint, and her search for connection feel deeply Filipino.”
The project’s journey has been gradual. Initially developed under the title Alab at Usok, the work evolved through workshops, revisions, and conversations before emerging as El Fuego del Alma. Earlier this year, Porvenir presented a staged reading at Sine Pop, which received strong responses from audiences and members of the theater community.
Critic Vladimir Bunoan observed that the production “captures that signature Williams tension,” while critic Arturo Hilado described it as “a signal exemplar of evocative psychological theater.”
The July and August run marks the project’s first full staging.
Presented as an intimate found-space production, El Fuego del Alma transforms Sine Pop into a shared theater environment where audiences sit close to the performers. The stripped-down approach emphasizes human relationships, emotional immediacy, and the quiet tensions that drive the play.
This full staging also introduces two new audience experiences. Depending on the scheduled performance, audiences will encounter either a wet season or dry season staging, with each version featuring its own visual atmosphere and design choices. Throughout the run, cast members will also share exclusive discount codes on their social media pages, giving audiences access to special ticket offers.
Juanito looking through the glass
The role of Alma Ortega is shared by Nour Hooshmand, Harriette Mozelle, and Opaline Santos. Acclaimed screen and theater actor Sandino Martin alternates with Vincent Pajara as Juanito.
The production also features Madeleine Nicolas, Rolando Inocencio, Sheryll Ceasico, JP Lopez, Janna Cortes, Ingrid Joyce, Johnny Maglinao, and Tristan Bite.
For Porvenir, the production continues the company’s commitment to reimagining classic works for contemporary Filipino audiences while creating space for new voices and independent theater practice.
“Williams wrote about people who struggle to say what they truly want,” says Mirando. “Many Filipinos understand that experience. That emotional distance, that hesitation, that longing. We wanted to place those feelings inside our own language, our own communities, and our own histories.”
‘El Fuego del Alma’ runs July 17–19, July 31, Aug. 1–2, and Aug. 21–23, 2026 at Sine Pop, Cubao, Quezon City. Friday performances are at 7 pm. Saturday and Sunday performances are at 4 and 7 pm.
Tickets are priced at ₱1,800 and are available through Ticket2Me. Audiences are encouraged to follow the cast on social media for exclusive discount codes available throughout the run.
For press inquiries, interviews, or complimentary media tickets, contact Arjee Vergel, production manager, at porvenircollective@gmail.com.
