‘Sunshine’ Immersive Stage Adaptation to Star Maris Racal in 2027
Antoinette Jadaone’s film Sunshine is set to be adapted into an immersive stage production in 2027, with Maris Racal reprising the titular role in her stage debut.
Titled Sunshine: The Immersive Stage Adaptation, the site-specific production will transform an existing architectural space in Metro Manila into the world of the film. Rather than a traditional stage and fixed seating, audiences will move through different spaces as the story unfolds around them.
The production will allow theatergoers to move through different spaces, encounter characters up close, decide whom to follow and where to go, and discover moments from Sunshine’s world that were not seen in the film. According to Jadaone, each audience member will be able to navigate the production differently, potentially experiencing the story in a different way.
“Sa pelikula, pinapanood mo si Sunshine gumawa ng desisyon,” says Jadaone. “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,” she adds. “We want more people to understand that she lives and breathes as a real person.”
Produced under Jadaone’s new banner, Ilaya Ilaya Studios, the adaptation follows the film’s international run, which included winning the Crystal Bear for Best Film at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.
Stage adaptation producer Phi Palmos says the immersive format will allow audiences to become part of the story rather than simply observe it.
“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 theater, this merging of worlds is especially exciting for me as a creative.”
Racal, who won Best Actress at the 9th EDDYs and received a nomination at the 49th Gawad Urian Awards for her performance in the film, will make her stage debut with the production.
“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,” says Racal. “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.”
Also making her stage debut is Xyriel Manabat, who reprises her role as Sunshine’s best friend, Thea. Elijah Canlas returns as Miggy, the father of Sunshine’s unborn child.
Mikko Angeles, who received a Gawad Buhay nomination for Outstanding Stage Direction for a Musical for Bar Boys: A New Musical, directs the production.
“We’re very fortunate to have Tonet’s blessing to really play with the material,” says Angeles. “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 and 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 for the stage.
“The real work lies in expanding Sunshine’s world,” says Regis. “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 has yet to be announced, but the production will occupy an existing space in Metro Manila in its entirety, incorporating its rooms, corridors, common areas, and other areas into the performance.
Production manager Joshua Chan, who served as project manager for Philippine National Week at Expo 2025 Osaka, says the format requires the team to approach the venue differently from a conventional theater production.
“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,” says Chan. “The exciting part for me is that we’re not simply putting a play inside a building; the building becomes Sunshine’s world.”
Sunshine: The Immersive Stage Adaptation is set to open in mid-2027. The venue, performance dates, full cast, and ticketing details will be announced at a later date.
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