REVIEW: ‘Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 4’ is a scattered but masterfully performed theater satire
PETA’s latest addition to the comedy franchise readily embraces the medium of theater with a brilliant Eugene Domingo, even as its satire mostly plays safe.
Across two films, one mini-series, and now a theater production, the Ang Babae sa Septic Tank franchise has always been as much a satire of the artistic ego as it is a spoof of various tropes in Philippine entertainment. As the scale of its stories has grown, so too has series protagonist Eugene Domingo (played by herself) become more shameless about hijacking creative projects in a bid for cultural relevance. This fourth installment produced by PETA, subtitled Oh Sh*t! It’s Live sa Cheter!, finds Domingo recruiting her friends to stage Aurelio Tolentino’s Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas in the middle of the West Philippine Sea.
Transitioning to the stage proves appropriate for the franchise’s constant escalation of stakes. Because the show embraces the medium of theater, it also becomes much bolder—its characters being made fully vulnerable before a live audience. However, the actual satire that the play attempts to provide stops short of truly digging into the systemic ills of the theater industry. And yet its entertainment value is hard to overstate, with Domingo delivering an effortless comic showcase throughout all of its two-and-a-half hours.
Manic energy
The often manic energy of Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 4 is also a credit to director Maribel Legarda, whose work here is at its best when she lets things play out with a convincing sense of spontaneity. A dinner scene that makes up most of the first act almost feels improvised in how its dialogue overlaps, with Legarda balancing every outsize personality seated at the table and finding consistent humor in the cast’s rapid-fire jokes. This is where the show gets to be more shrewdly satirical as well: observing a group of people ranting about the state of the industry while inside a lavish house and getting high on edibles.
The production unfortunately loses much of this cleverness in act two. The spectacle of Domingo’s absurd play-within-the-play is more overwhelming than witty, relying on repetitive gags that make the original Tolentino text more “palatable” to a modern, passive audience. To the show’s credit, though, this spectacle is always supported by relatively simple yet efficient design, including Barbie Tan-Tiongco’s lighting, Bene Manaois’ versatile and humorous video projections, and Gino Gonzales’ dynamic set—which easily shifts appearance through the use of modular panels, while using its inclined angle for more interesting tableaux and physical comedy. And even if its larger comedic set pieces have less to say about theater or its self-styled saviors, its final images make for a surprisingly daring portrait of ego becoming madness.
JC Santos, Andoy Ranay, and the cast of Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 4; Photo Credit: PETA
Playing safe
There’s truth in Chris Martinez’s script about how our local entertainment industries may have very well fallen into traps of their own making. No matter an artist’s personal dreams and ambitions, the capitalist mandate of prioritizing profit above all else tends to nip those dreams in the bud—forcing people to create the very things they claim to hate. Martinez (who also penned the franchise’s first three installments) sets up this bitter reality at the beginning and gets plenty of comedic mileage out of gradually getting the characters to cross the boundaries they had set for themselves.
With that said, it doesn’t take long to realize that Septic Tank 4’s writing also traps itself into playing safe. Its criticisms rightfully come from a place of love for theater, but it doesn’t take the opportunity to really confront systemic imbalances of power or specific abuses of authority behind the scenes. For all its name-dropping and niche references, the play’s supposed skewering of the theater scene is at times either factually dubious—its claim that musicals and gratuitous nudity are widespread just isn’t true anymore—or too vague and scattershot to be truly unsettling. The closest it gets is in its ensemble of “Ugeng-gengs,” Domingo’s loyal troupe of underprivileged people whom she’s recruited off the street. The classist assertion that theater has rehabilitated them into becoming “more cultured” is easily the most scathing idea in this production.
Inexhaustible charisma
But while Septic Tank 4 ends up being more lightly entertaining than seriously critical, its cast still puts in the effort to earn their laughs. The entire ensemble shares strong chemistry with one another, matching each other’s energy and confidently giving in to the show’s ridiculous whims. Among the other actors playing fictionalized version of themselves, Stella Cañete-Mendoza relishes the chance to be unexpectedly silly, JC Santos puts his dancing ability (through choreography by Raflesia Bravo) to great use, and Andoy Ranay fully leans in to his character’s desperation to play sexy.
Stella Cañete-Mendoza and the cast of Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 4; Photo Credit: PETA
However, there is simply no one else capable of upstaging the real Domingo herself, who turns in a performance of seemingly inexhaustible charisma and commitment to the bit. This type of broad comedy isn’t anything new to the actress, but seeing her do what she does best for such a sustained period of time makes her every choice all the more striking. She understands how to constantly find new angles for delivering repeated set-ups and punchlines, while adjusting to her every scene partner in unique ways. She may be playing an egomaniac but Domingo’s generosity as an actress is on full display, always serving the material. Try as the play may to make her character the ultimate showbiz villain, the real Domingo almost proves too likable for the role—but in this case, that disconnect isn’t a problem.
This reviewer watched the 7:30 PM, June 25 gala performance.
Tickets: P1,800–3,500
Show Dates: June 19 – August 16, 2026
Venue: PETA Theater Center, New Manila, Quezon City
Running Time: approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes (with a 15-minute intermission)
Company: Philippine Educational Theater Association
Creatives: Chris Martinez (Playwright), Maribel Legarda (Direction), Johnnie Moran (Assistant Direction), Gino Gonzales (Set and Costume Design), Angel Dayao (Music and Sound Design), Michelle Ngu Nario (Lyrics), Barbie Tan-Tiongco (Lighting Design), Raflesia Bravo (Choreography), Bene Manaois (Video Design)
Cast: Eugene Domingo, Meann Espinosa, Stella Cañete-Mendoza, Melvin Lee, Andoy Ranay, Marlon Rivera, JC Santos, Joshua Lim So, Ron Alfonso, Kiki Baento, Roi Calilong, Jay Cortez, Nyla Festejo, James Lanante, Carlon Matobato, Eli Namoc, Reggie Ondevilla, Air Paz, Ada Tayao
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