Repertory Philippines (REP) has partnered with Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) for its Bridge Project program, bringing UK conservatoire training to Manila in 2025. BOVTS is a renowned drama school known for its quality in professional acting, technical, production, and stage management training. Notable alumni include Jeremy Irons, Patrick Stewart, and Oscar-winning actors Daniel Day Lewis and Olivia Colman. Five Filipino theatre artists have trained and graduated from BOVTS, including actors Pinky Amador, Petra Joan Athene, James Bradwell, Kirsten Foster, and theatre director Victor Lirio.
REP is a Manila-based theatre company dedicated to producing English-language productions and providing actor training. Helmed with BOVTS alum, director Victor Lirio, and designed a collaborative congress for Filipino theatre practitioners in the Philippines, UK, and US, REP’s Bridge Project began in February 2024 when it presented Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, recipient of several Gawad Buhay citations, with an international company of Manila, New York, and London-based actors and designers including another BOVTS alum, actor James Bradwell.
The program, in collaboration with Mint College in Bonifacio Global City, also offered classes in Shakespeare’s Text Rhetoric, Stanislavski-based Scene Study work, Fundamentals on Scenic Design, Music Composition, and a Speaker Series forum with Lirio and the London-based Filipino actors before an audience of local theatre practitioners including actors, designers, tutors, stage managers, and producers. The sessions were offered to theatre practitioners for free.
Naomi Miller, Head of Development at BOVTS, commented: “From our very beginnings nearly 80 years ago, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School has always sought to bring storytellers from across the globe together in learning, practice, and performance. We are incredibly excited to be partnering with Repertory Philippines and Mint College to showcase and share the expertise of our teachers and practitioners, to learn from artists in Manila, and to help underpin the amazing talent and potential of Filipino theater makers with a strong foundation in conservatoire style training.”
REP’s President & CEO, Mindy Perez-Rubio, said: “We are thrilled about this partnership and honored to be associated with Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, a prestigious institution known for providing world-class training, which can benefit many theatre practitioners in Manila. This is a tremendous opportunity for our artists here in the Philippines to continue elevating their work to global standards. With the Bridge Project, REP is committing to a multi-year training program that we will slowly expand. We will bring tutors not only for acting courses but also for designers and production arts that include stage management, scenic, lighting, and sound design courses.”
She added: “The founders of REP were very committed to theatre training. I would like to honor their original vision and legacy by expanding our training program. With our groundbreaking BOVTS partnership, our new theatre venue in Eastwood City, and our continued collaboration with Mint College, we will be able to offer more extensive theatre courses. Perhaps a proper drama school in Manila will be in REP’s future.”
The courses for REP’s Bridge Project will continue to be offered for free and will be programmed with BOVTS under the leadership of REP’s artistic director, Jeremy Domingo, and the team at BOVTS. They will be announced later this year.
Domingo commented: “I’m excited to launch this global initiative on my first year at REP as artistic director. We are looking forward to expanding our training institute at REP and continuing to build and bridge a collaborative theatre community for Filipino artists—in production and training. We have quite a rejuvenated season planned for the next few years.”
For more information about REP’s Bridge Project, visit www.repertoryphilippines.ph.
