The Bootstrap Theatre HK brings Filipino stage plays to the international stage

Hong Kong-based Filipino theatre artists recently announced the launch of their new performing arts group, The Bootstrap Theatre HK. Led by accomplished performer, writer and composer William Elvin Manzano, the newly formed company aims to bring stage plays and other theatrical works written by Filipino playwrights in front of a multicultural audience in Asia’s world city. 

For its debut production, the company will stage “FAKE”, a full-length English play written by Floy Quintos – one of Metro Manila’s most celebrated contemporary playwrights, on June 7, 2025, 4 PM and 7 PM at The Hong Kong Jockey Club Studio Theatre, Fringe Club, Central. 

The play, which serves as a discussion of Filipinos’ religious faith intertwined with their struggle for national identity, was premiered in the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2011 under the direction of National Artist Tony Mabesa. Both Quintos and Mabesa. who unfortunately passed away in 2019 and 2024 respectively, have mentored and heavily influenced Manzano who’s now taking on the challenge of directing the production in Hong Kong. 

The cast, consisting of Hong Kong-based Filipino and British actors ready to take on Quintos’ dramatic dissection of faith and identity, is led by Philippine theater veteran Ralion Alonso playing Jose Marco – dubbed as “Philippine history’s greatest conman”, and film actress Xyza Cada as Sister Emily, a supposed visionary and faith healer in the mountains of Luzon. 

“Apart from telling Filipino stories on the world stage, it is our goal in The Bootstrap Theatre to create an artistic, creative industry for Filipinos living in Hong Kong, from actors, dancers, and musicians to writers, directors and filmmakers as well as backstage and administration personnel,” said Manzano. “Floy Quintos’ magnificent work is only the first in a long line of plays we hope to stage, which all feature stories that starkly and honestly reflect modern Filipino society through world-class theater productions.” 

Manzano has won multiple awards in the Philippines (Aliw Awards, Philstage Gawad Buhay) as the co-lyricist and composer of “Mula sa Buwan” – now considered as a contemporary classic in Philippine musical theatre. In “FAKE”, Manzano returns to the directorial chair after more than a decade, having directed several productions in Metro Manila in the early 2010s before relocating to Hong Kong in 2014. 

Tickets are now available via Eventbrite. For more information on The Bootstrap Theatre HK and “FAKE”, Hong Kong theatregoers can follow the new company’s social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram, send them a message in their social media accounts or email them at tbtmediaent@gmail.com.