REVIEW: ‘Endo’ is an ambitious working class romance at odds with itself
“This present-day update of the 2007 film clearly articulates the labor issues at its heart but leaves its story and characters scattered and underdeveloped.”
Whereas Jade Castro’s 2007 film Endo found its characters bouncing between retail outlets, restaurants, and other establishments offering contractual, service-oriented jobs, this updated stage adaptation from PETA Plus and Ticket2Me places them in today’s app-based gig economy. And while the original movie saw things through a candid, low-budget naturalism, this new version uses the expressiveness of choreographed movement and stagecraft to capture a world of remote work, online shopping, and relentless rating systems.
The idea behind this update is sound—even in 2026, the romance between freelance workers Leo and Tanya is ultimately at the mercy of their economic situation. However, despite its clear articulation of various labor issues and one particularly riveting lead performance, the play constantly feels at odds with itself. Many of its attempts to express its ideas through abstraction and restlessness don’t deepen the material so much as they lead to greater disconnect and make its characters harder to access.
Temporary relationships
Liza Magtoto’s script is resolute in its perspective of how the “endo” system’s unfair labor practices—short-term contracts without regular employment benefits—have only changed shape today under the illusion of technological progress. Even if Leo works for one seemingly convenient, personalized app after another (ride-hailing, delivery, massage, etc.), he isn’t guaranteed protection and largely has to depend on himself. Meanwhile, retail and BPO work remain precarious, leading Tanya to use her free time as an online seller and language teacher. So many temporary jobs can’t help but lead to temporary relationships, while established family bonds buckle under the shame of losing work.
Royce Cabrera, Jasmine Curtis-Smith; Photo Credit: She Toledo
Underneath all this detail, however, Endo frequently loses its characters in muddy motivations and in a handful of drawn-out, extraneous scenes. Long discussions about labor conditions persist even into the production’s final sequences, but at the expense of helping us better understand the choices Leo and Tanya make for their relationship. Leo’s reconnecting with his ex-girlfriend Candy comes off as a toothless, manufactured conflict, and the ending hurriedly throws things into freefall without resolution. What was probably meant as a realistic open ending leaves the characters more opaque than how they started out.
Changing partners
In spite of this, Rissey Reyes-Robinson’s Tanya is so assured and charismatic that the character remains an aspirational figure through all of Endo’s running about. Her optimism brightens the performances of each of her scene partners and colors Tanya’s hard work with a real sense of determination. Esteban Mara’s Leo shares an easy, convincing chemistry with her, making them a couple clearly united by their hope for the future—and making Leo’s bad choices feel like a result of his failure to confront his own vulnerability. And while Candy remains a baffling question mark of a character, Kate Alejandrino-Juan manages to give her a real self-awareness beneath her comic expressiveness.
The alternate cast (Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Royce Cabrera, and Iana Bernardez) serve their roles sufficiently but aren’t as capable of breaking out of the script’s limitations. Curtis-Smith’s Tanya gets to express a more delicate concern over Cabrera’s gruffer Leo, but their relationship also comes across as somewhat reluctant, making it more questionable that they would stay together and making their romance harder to root for. And while Bernardez can still be humorous in her Candy’s awkwardness, her portrayal of the character also feels adrift and less present—a texture that could have been worth exploring if the writing gave Candy more to do.
Constant rush
Members of the ensemble portray a revolving door of characters throughout, but they function most prominently as living scenery, echoing the drama through Christine Crame’s choreography. The dancing itself creates plenty of evocative images emphasizing Leo and Tanya’s financial anxiety—but the issue is that director Melvin Lee tends to deploy these choreographed pieces haphazardly during the play. The movement doesn’t always complement the action so much as it fights for attention. Restlessness seems to be the main idea that the show is built on, but the result is a story that scatters rather than builds.
Rissey Reyes-Robinson and Esteban Mara with the show’s ensemble; Photo Credit: Enzo Guinto/ CreaZion Studios
Endo has been designed with undeniable ambition: production designer D Cortezano lets curtains of frayed ropes hang from above, while a rectangular platform that makes up most of the stage shifts and shakes like a boat in stormy waters. But outside more thoughtful scenes of intimacy, these elements can become distracting. The platform creaks perilously, while David Esguerra’s lighting keeps the stage oddly underlit, and Kabaitan Bautista’s score occasionally intrudes upon moments that don’t need added tension. Endo’s vision of hustle culture as a constant rush of items to be sold and customers to serve is admirable; it’s just that the production keeps getting in its own way.
This reviewer watched the 8 PM, April 8 press preview and the 3 PM, April 11 show.
Tickets: P1600–2700
Show Dates: Apr 10 – May 10 2026
Venue: PETA Theater Center, New Manila, Quezon City
Running Time: approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes (without intermission)
Company: Ticket2Me, PETA Plus
Creatives: Liza Magtoto (Adaptation), Melvin Lee (Direction), Christine Crame (Choreography), Kabaitan Bautista (Musical Direction, Composer, Sound Design), D Cortezano (Production Design), David Esguerra (Lighting Design), John Carlo V. Pagunaling (Costume Design), Eric V. dela Cruz (Dramaturgy)
Cast: Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Rissey Reyes-Robinson, Royce Cabrera, Esteban Mara, Iana Bernardez, Kate Alejandrino-Juan, Raphne Catorce, Noelle Polack, Raflesia Bravo, Denmark Brinces, Kirby Dunnzell, Ekis Gimenez, Carlon Matobato, Jacinta Pascual, Nikki Soriano, Teetin Villanueva
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