Latest news with #MetroDiaries
The National
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Dubai Metro becomes stage for Filipino migrant stories in new play
What does it mean to belong to a city that may never belong to you? To live in a place built on transience, where presence feels conditional and time always borrowed? How do you hold on to identity when your life is shaped by visa renewals, shift work and long-distance calls home? These are the questions posed – yet not always answered – by Metro Diaries, a resonant piece of devised theatre staged by 63Kolektib, a Filipino community theatre group based in Dubai. The play had its debut in June at NYU Abu Dhabi, where every show sold out – a sign that audiences may be hungry for stories rooted in the UAE's lived social reality, rather than imported spectacle. More performances are planned. Told through a series of vignettes set figuratively aboard the Dubai Metro, the production offers a poetic portrait of the migrant condition: constant motion, silent observation and a city rushing past before you've had the chance to claim it. There is no central plot – instead, Metro Diaries unfolds through monologues and movement sequences. We meet a man fighting anxious thoughts while commuting to his nine-to-five, residents shifting from one overcrowded apartment to another, and a stream of characters whose lives pass in and out of view like stations on a line. The minimal alley-style set invites immersion, but it's the intimacy of the material that resonates. Part of what gives Metro Diaries its urgency is its authorship – a play about migrants, written and performed by migrants. The script doesn't feel observed; it feels lived. There's an ease in the code-switching between English and Tagalog, in the cultural references left unexplained, in the subtle gestures that speak volumes to those who recognise them. The second half of the play carries some of its most affecting moments. In one sequence, a dancer moves through a voiceover narrating the arc of a Filipino migrant's journey – from leaving home, to job hunts and visa runs, to carving out space within the UAE's fast-paced demands. Later, three women deliver overlapping monologues that reveal the quiet emotional tolls of survival: housing insecurity, tight budgets and the pressure to appear strong for family back home. At times, the rawness of the performances tilts into melodrama, and certain lines articulate their themes a little too explicitly. These are minor stumbles – common in devised community work – and reflect the weight of lived experience pushing up against theatrical form. With tighter pacing and polish in future stagings, the show could achieve an even deeper impact without losing its authenticity. While the production is grounded in the Filipino experience, its themes will resonate widely. The sense of impermanence – of building a life between legal frameworks and personal aspirations – is shared by many who live and work in the UAE. That's what makes Metro Diaries feel important beyond its two-day run. While large-scale international productions dominate the local theatre scene, this one proves there is both talent and appetite for home-grown stories. Its success suggests that audiences are ready – perhaps overdue – for theatre that speaks to life as it's lived here. The hope now is that more doors open, more lights stay on, and more stories – quiet, complex and true – find their way on to the stage and in to national conversation.
The National
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
In a new play, Dubai Metro becomes stage for Filipino migrant stories
What does it mean to belong to a city that may never belong to you? To live in a place built on transience, where presence feels conditional and time always borrowed? How do you hold on to identity when your life is shaped by visa renewals, shift work, and long-distance calls home? These are the questions posed – not always answered – by Metro Diaries, a resonant piece of devised theatre staged by 63Kolektib, a Filipino community theatre group based in Dubai. The play had its debut in June at NYU Abu Dhabi, where every show sold out – a sign that audiences may be hungry for stories rooted in the UAE's lived social reality, rather than imported spectacle. More performances are planned. Told through a series of vignettes set figuratively aboard the Dubai Metro, the production offers a poetic portrait of the migrant condition: constant motion, silent observation and a city rushing past before you've had the chance to claim it. There is no central plot – instead, Metro Diaries unfolds through monologues and movement sequences. We meet a man fighting anxious thoughts while commuting to his nine-to-five, residents shifting from one overcrowded apartment to another, and a stream of characters whose lives pass in and out of view like stations on a line. The minimal alley-style set invites immersion, but it's the intimacy of the material that resonates. Part of what gives Metro Diaries its urgency is its authorship – a play about migrants, written and performed by migrants. The script doesn't feel observed; it feels lived. There's an ease in the code-switching between English and Tagalog, in the cultural references left unexplained, in the subtle gestures that speak volumes to those who recognise them. The second half of the play carries some of its most affecting moments. In one sequence, a dancer moves through a voice-over narrating the arc of a Filipino migrant's journey – from leaving home, to job hunts and visa runs, to carving out space within the UAE's fast-paced demands. Later, three women deliver overlapping monologues that reveal the quiet emotional tolls of survival: housing insecurity, tight budgets, and the pressure to appear strong for family back home. At times, the rawness of the performances tilts into melodrama, and certain lines articulate their themes a little too explicitly. These are minor stumbles – common in devised community work – and reflect the weight of lived experience pushing up against theatrical form. With tighter pacing and polish in future stagings, the show could reach an even deeper impact without losing its authenticity. While the production is grounded in the Filipino experience, its themes will resonate widely. The sense of impermanence – of building a life between legal frameworks and personal aspirations – is shared by many who live and work in the UAE. That's what makes Metro Diaries feel important beyond its two-day run. While large-scale international productions dominate the local theatre scene, this production proves there is both talent and appetite for home-grown stories. Its success suggests that audiences are ready – perhaps overdue – for theatre that speaks to life as it's lived here. The hope now is that more doors open, more lights stay on, and more stories – quiet, complex and true – find their way into the national conversation and on to the stage.
Gulf Today
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Abu Dhabi to stage ‘Metro Diaries' on June 21 and 22
The quiet hustle-and-bustle as one smoothly rolls and sways in a sea of nations – every day. Welcome to Metro Diaries. 'It happened one evening while we were having dinner with friends. Trixie thought of the idea and we realised that there is a possibility here as all of us experience using the rapid transit system and we have witnessed quite a few unforgettable moments there,' says Jomel Duran Reyes, in the UAE for the past decade, even as way back and upon arrival, his intention was only to stay briefly because he only 'wanted a break from work and school.' Trixie Danielle Balangao shares: 'My rides are very personal to me. I think about many things. I even cry sometimes because certain emotions surface in those lull moments.' 'I also like observing people. People from all walks of life. The amused. The confused. The tired. The happy,' she muses. These and more at the 'Metro Diaries,' when the 2003-conceptualised 55-station Dubai Metro, under the directive of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, breathes-in-and-breathes-out in another realm. The third full-length production of the 63Kolektib, a community of artists from the Philippines -- +63 being the country code – which Gulf Today had the chance to first interact with at the Bayt AlMamzar art space in Dubai, at their Feb. 26, 2022 inaugural meeting; 'Metro Diaries,' the musical play, shall be staged in the capital on June 21 and 22, commissioned by The Arts Center of the New York University-Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). Along with Abu Dhabi-based Jomel and multi-disciplinary artist-writer Trixie Danielle, in the full-English script, direction, and staging is Juan Gonzales, who partners with 19-year-old Rei Co for the choreography. Like Jomel and Trixie Danielle, Juan who had embraced early on that 'art must be engaged in social issues,' has been profoundly ensconced in the performing arts and theatre production, inside and outside of the classrooms. While Rei, only three years old when her parents decided to make the UAE their second home and by way of her Sima Performing Arts (Dubai) membership, from age six, is now a professional dancer, since crafting her own debut solo at age 13; the artistry of Jomel, Trixie Danielle, and Juan, have been sharpened even more, through their entry as cohorts at the Numoo. Numoo is the artistic development incubator or programme of The Arts Center began in 2021. 'I applied to be part of the first batch. I learnt more about being an artist here in the region and improved more on the business side of art-making and producing,' says Advertising and Public Relations degree holder Jomel, a Sining Lahi Polyrepertory member of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines who also studied some courses at the University of the Philippines-Graduate Studies in Theatre. 'Since then, there has been a good relationship with The Arts Center and many other local artists here,' adds Jomel who wants to promote Filipino culture through the lens of the migrant experience. Trixie Daniella is thankful to Jomel and Juan for her Numoo inclusion: 'They nominated me in 2023. I applied and was accepted. It was in 2022 when I was able to connect as well with The Arts Center through former NYUAD instructor Robert de Guzman.' Robert, according to Trixie Daniella, held a workshop for his research project, 'The Museum of Migration and Memory' at Bayt AlMamzar, in collaboration with the 63Kolektib: 'He reached out to us and invited us for an artist residency at the NYUAD.' On the 'Metro Diaries,' Trixie Daniella, says: 'I was trying to shape it for Numoo. I wrote 'musings of a collective moving experience' because I imagined that these are fleeting moments where you stare blankly but you are thinking deeply or you are doing and thinking so many things that you do not even pay attention to your surroundings.' Upon receipt of the 'green light from The Arts Center,' Trixie Danielle, Jomel and Juan started 'meeting at a 'café tucked inside an unassuming building in Salah Al Din where we sat for three hours or more talking about our experiences as migrants and just putting these out there to simmer.'
Al Etihad
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Metro Diaries transports you into the world of Dubai's diverse commuters
16 June 2025 00:36 ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)Get ready for an engaging theatrical journey that transforms the stage at The Black Box, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi into a public transport setting, bringing to life the untold stories of Dubai's diverse Diaries, by the Filipino theatre group 63Kolektib, invites audiences to step into a world where movement and poetry intertwine, reflecting the rhythm of daily metro show runs on Saturday and Sunday, June 21-22, with performances at 2.30pm and evocative performances that blend spoken word, dance and live soundscapes, the experience unfolds in vignettes that capture fleeting connections, moments of solitude, and the universal search for the spontaneity of real metro journey, the passengers board, interact and part ways, each carrying a story. Some encounters are lighthearted, filled with warmth and curiosity, while others reveal the deeper struggles and resilience of migrant its core, Metro Diaries is a meditation on loss, hope, and grounding - three universal threads that bind all the travellers together, whether on a train or through the stage, Metro Diaries extends into the community through a series of free workshops. These sessions invite participants to share their own narratives, exploring the power of theatre as a means of connection and cultural expression.63Kolektib is an artist-led community committed to creating performances that amplify underrepresented voices, particularly those of migrant communities in the group was founded by artists with diverse backgrounds in theatre, poetry, and performance art, who share a passion for storytelling, movement and performers include:Trixie Danielle, a 2024 Numoo cohort member at The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, is a multidisciplinary artist based in the UAE. Her work delves into migration, identity, and belonging, mainly through theatre, poetry, and storytelling, while exploring the Filipino diaspora and fostering connection across Gonzales is a Filipino migrant and multi-disciplinary performance-maker based in Dubai, and co-founder of 63Kolektib. He began his artistic journey in the Philippines, where he studied and practiced Duran Reyes is a theatre and performance-maker based in Abu Dhabi, dedicated to promoting Filipino culture through the lens of the migrant experience. He is a co-founder of 63Kolektib and member of Numoo Arts Programme, and has produced and contributed to numerous performance projects across both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Rei Co is a 19-year-old professional dancer who began her journey at just six years old. By eight, she was training with Sima Dance Company, and by 12, she launched her professional career. At 13, Rei not only created her debut solo piece featured in Ansaf by Alaa Krimed, but also began teaching contemporary and hip-hop at Sima Performing Arts.
