Antoinette Jadaone's 'Sunshine' gets immersive stage adaptation, lets audience enter the story; Maris Racal sets theater debut

MANILA, Philippines — You’ve watched Sunshine’s story. In 2027, you can step inside it. Literally.

Fresh off its Crystal Bear win for Best Film at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, Antoinette Jadaone’s critically acclaimed Sunshine is being reimagined as Sunshine: The Immersive Stage Adaptation, a site-specific production that will transform an architectural space in Metro Manila into Sunshine’s world, with audiences moving through the story as it unfolds around them.

There will be no traditional stage. No fixed seats. And no two audience members may experience Sunshine’s story in exactly the same way.

Instead of watching from a distance, audiences will move through different spaces, encounter characters up close, decide whom to follow and where to go, and discover moments of Sunshine’s world that they may never have seen in the film.

The result is not simply a stage adaptation of Sunshine, but a chance to enter her reality…and confront her choices from within it.

Produced under Jadaone’s new banner, Ilaya Ilaya Studios, Sunshine: The Immersive Stage Adaptation will transform a distinctive architectural space in Metro Manila into a living narrative environment. Boundaries between stage and audience will blur as theatergoers step beyond the traditional role of spectator and into a world where the story unfolds in real time around them.

Each audience member will be free to navigate Sunshine’s world differently, following characters, entering spaces, overhearing conversations, and discovering parts of the story that may be happening somewhere else at the exact same time, according to Jadaone.

“Sa pelikula, pinapanood mo si Sunshine gumawa ng desisyon,” she said. “Pero dito, kasama mo siyang gawin ang mga desisyon na ‘yun.”

“We want to make it clear that Sunshine lives in the same reality as ours,” Jadaone added. “We want more people to understand that she lives and breathes as a real person.”

The production marks the stage debut of award-winning actress Maris Racal, who reprises her titular role. Racal, who claimed Best Actress at the 9th EDDYs and earned a nomination at the 49th Gawad Urian Awards for her performance, will flesh out the character live on stage.

“One of the best things that ever happened in my life is that I got to be Sunshine, and I'm so happy that I get to be her again. I missed being her so much,” she said. “The thought of playing Sunshine in front of so many people is quite overwhelming, but that's also what makes it exciting, because I know Direk Tonet is creating something different. I'm excited to train, to learn things I haven't learned yet, and to work with new people.”

Joining Racal in her own stage debut is Xyriel Manabat, who returns as Sunshine’s best friend, Thea. Elijah Canlas also reprises his role as Miggy, the father of Sunshine’s unborn child.

Architecting Sunshine’s World

Director Mikko Angeles, who earned a Gawad Buhay nomination for Outstanding Stage Direction for a Musical for Bar Boys: A New Musical at the 15th Gawad Buhay Awards, steers this production into a visceral exploration of agency and complicity.

“We’re very fortunate to have Tonet’s blessing to really play with the material,” Angeles said. “That freedom is incredibly exciting because it allows us to question not only how the story is told, but where the audience stands in relation to it.”

Playwright-actor Mikaela Regis, an Outstanding Original Script nominee at the 14th Gawad Buhay Awards for her one-act play Unica Hijas, is adapting Jadaone’s screenplay.

“The real work lies in expanding Sunshine’s world,” Regis said. “What better way to achieve that than through the close, empathetic, embodied nature of theater? And in making the experience immersive, what else can people discover and feel when they are no longer just spectating?”

The exact venue remains under wraps, but the production will take over an existing Metro Manila space in its entirety, with rooms, corridors, common areas, and unexpected corners becoming part of the story.

For production manager Joshua Chan, who served as Project Manager for Philippine National Week at Expo 2025 Osaka, staging the piece requires rethinking how conventional theater treats physical spaces. “Unlike a traditional production where the audience is contained in one room, Sunshine requires us to think about the entire building as part of the performance,” Chan explained. “The exciting part for me is that we're not simply putting a play inside a building; the building becomes Sunshine’s world.”

Stage adaptation producer Phi Palmos also shares his sentiments. “Sunshine is both a beloved and controversial story—an exciting one to experience onstage. With this adaptation, we’re pushing it further: the audience doesn’t just watch; they become part of the story. And with Tonet, a dear friend and passionate supporter of Philippine theatre, this merging of worlds is especially exciting for me as a creative.”

Sunshine: The Immersive Stage Adaptation opens in mid-2027.

Further announcements regarding venue, show dates, full cast, and ticket sales will be released soon.

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