'About Us But Not About Us' adaptation brings love, lies, and trauma to the stage
In 2022, filmmaker and author Jun Robles Lana (And the Breadwinner Is…) released About Us But Not About Us, starring Romnick Sarmenta (Quezon) and Elijah Canlas (GomBurZa) as Eric and his former student, Lance, respectively. Built around what starts as an innocuous conversation in a restaurant, the post-Pandemic drama revealed itself to be a tension-filled psychological drama, where every word was a weapon, and every memory a minefield of physical and emotional betrayal.
About Us was acclaimed for its performances and uncompromising take on the secrets, half-truths, and outright lies that erode a relationship. For 2026, Lana has reimagined his film as a play, with Sarmenta and Canlas reprising their roles under the direction of Tuxqs Rutaquio (Anino Sa Likod ng Buwan), and the addition of Epy Quizon as a previously unseen character.
Ahead of the Feb. 14 opening of About Us from The IdeaFirst Company, PhilSTAR L!fe caught up with the cast, writer, and director at their preview performance at the Power Mac Center Performing Arts Spotlight BlackBox Theater on Jan. 16.
According to Lana, part of the impetus to revisit About Us was the surprising relatability the film encountered in its various screenings. Indeed, while Lana had conceived the original film from his own (traumatic) personal experiences, he was constantly approached by viewers here and abroad who found themselves relating to the story of Eric, Lancelot, and the (then-) unseen Marcus.
“When you project your story on a screen, it reflects back on the audience,” shared Lana, on the unexpected success that resulted in the play. “Trauma is something that needs to be discussed; it needs an honest conversation, but when I made the film, I made it for myself! I was totally surprised when I realized that the film resonated with a lot of people.”
For Sarmenta, the chance to step back into Professor Eric’s shoes was irresistible, telling L!fe, “When I heard they’d decided to turn it into a stage play, I said, ‘There’s no way I ‘m going to miss that’—I just wanted to be a part of it!”
Sarmenta’s enthusiasm was echoed by Canlas, who told L!fe that he was excited for the opportunity to spend time exploring the characters more and deepening the story in a play where 80% of the narrative involves two characters sitting down.
For his part, Sarmento said, “[Doing the play] is like looking back at the material with a fresh set of eyes because you want to be able to put in the new experiences you may have had over those [intervening] years and allow that to influence the character.”
As the man tasked with actually bringing the story to the stage, Rutaquio approached the material from an altogether unique POV, having not actually seen the film when he was first offered the job. “Hindi ko pa napapanuod yung movie nung time na yun!” laughed Rutaquio. “So pinanuod ko, and when we met again, sabi ko, interested ako kay Marcus, I want to see him—the core of the material was really all about Marcus.
Indeed, despite never actually being seen in the film, Marcus (who’s left Eric’s life when the story opens) plays an integral role in Eric and Lance’s revelatory spiral. Here, he is the play’s third character, popping up in often-conflicting recollections as revelations unfold. Bringing the hitherto unseen Marcus to life is the inimitable Epy Quizon, who gives the role an indelible, primal quality that permeates the proceedings, even when he’s not on stage.
On playing the only character with no analogous screen reference, Quizon said, “The character was very complex in the script they gave me, so [I had to] just trust how he was written, and [added] a lot of imagination because this is the first time we see him…Marcus is close to bipolar, really[.]”
Digging into that monster was precisely what intrigued Rutaquio, who shared his fascination with the relative dynamics of power found in many of Lana’s works: “[About Us] is really about how power is manipulated. Minsan hindi mo alam, nasa yo na pala yung power, paminsan nasa iba na pala, and you become the victim.”
When asked about why audiences should see the play on its Valentine’s Day opening, Quizon noted that it's about relationships.
"I know people who cling to bad relationships… This play is about how different people see relationships in different ways. My advice for anyone who’s in a bad relationship? RUN AWAY!”
Sarmento had a slightly less pragmatic take, saying that, “Reading into the material allows you to see how similar dynamics really are in relationships. It may not be under the same circumstances, but as long as love and feeling lonely [are] involved, it’s so relatable.”
“As a race, I think we’re so used to hearing the words, ‘I love you’…we are so used to seeing films and reading poetry about it that we have totally just romanticized the whole thing and forgotten that there’s actual work that needs to be put in for it to flourish—it’s important for people to realize how to value love.”
About Us But Not About Us opens on Feb. 14 and runs until March 8 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Black Box Theater in Circuit Makati. Tickets are available now at ticket2me.
