Following its rerun of Quomodo Desolata Es?, Areté opens its 2026 season with the theme, Sa Parang ng Digma, featuring shows that discuss different forms of man and society’s revolution against authoritarianism, injustice,  hypocrisy, and self-interest. 

Areté is set to open Subversive Lives, a theatrical re-telling of the experiences of the Quimpo family during the Martial Law era. 

Based on the 2012 book Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years by Susan F. Quimpo and Nathan Gilbert Quimpo, this story features a family’s sacrifices during a turbulent period in our nation’s history. 

Rather than presenting history through a single perspective, the production centres on the experiences of ten siblings whose lives were shaped by political upheaval. It asks how national events find their way into the home, whose sacrifices are remembered, and how succeeding generations continue to grapple with the legacies of the past.

Director and movement designer Delphine Buencamino leads the production alongside a collaborative ensemble of actor-devisers portraying the Quimpo siblings and the many people who crossed paths with them throughout the story.

The cast includes Gino Ramirez, Neomi Gonzales, Chic de Guzman, Teetin Villanueva, Liway Perez, Jerom Canlas, Joshua Tayco, Timothy Castillo, Jerome Dawis, Rigel Hechanova, Ethan King, and Kyrie Samodio.

Supporting Buencamino is an artistic team composed of assistant director Cholo Ledesma, dramaturg and librettist Sabrina Basilio, composer Jose Buencamino, sound designer Arvy Dimaculangan, lighting designer Jethro Nibaten, set designer D Cortezano, costume and make-up designer Carlo Pagunaling, graphic designers Darlyn Romanillos and Jheanne Las, and photographer Myra Ho.

Through an approach that combines movement, devised performance, and documentary storytelling, Subversive Lives explores questions that remain relevant beyond the historical period it depicts: how families carry the weight of political conflict, how memory is preserved, and how stories passed from one generation to the next continue to shape public understanding of the past.

Subversive Lives runs for two weekends, August 28–30 and September 4–6, 2026, at the Doreen Black Box Theater in Areté, Ateneo de Manila University.

Tickets are priced at ₱1,500 for students and ₱1,800 for the general public and are now available through Areté's official ticketing platforms.