Litmus Theatre will be presenting a partial reading of a our new play in development, Balikbayan, at Evergreen Brick Works’s Good Mourning Festival.

BALIKBAYAN

by Adriano Sobretodo Jr.

Presentations: 11am & 1pm on Saturday November 1st, 2025

Venue: The BMO Atrium at Evergreen Brick Works, Toronto

Runtime: 1 hour

Ticketing: This is a free event with limited capacity. Come early to queue in line to reserve a seat.

Content Advisory: Please note this reading is recommended for ages 12-14+. The script contains Coarse Language (swearing, slurs/discriminatory words) and Adult Content (sexualized themes).

About the Play:

The word “Balikbayan” describes someone returning to the Philippines after living abroad. This Balikbayan is a theatre-play shout-out to 80’s sci-fi film Back to the Future. A death in the family propels a son’s bizarre journey to uncover a dark family mystery across time and cultures. It’s about grief, modern masculinity, the complexities of leaving home — and the difference between getting old and growing up.

Contact: For more information email info@litmustheatre.com

Acknowledgements:

Litmus Theatre thanks the following supporters for development funding towards Balikbayan.

In the Summer of 2023 Litmus dove head first into a first phase script development workshop for our new project, Balikbayan, at St Luke’s United Church in Toronto. Lead Writer Adriano Sobretodo Jr. took inspiration from the space and offers from our team and wrote a draft of the first half of the play.  

We have a rare opportunity over the next two years to exclusively develop and stage this new play in the St Luke’s while it’s undergoing a major renovation. 

The word “balikbayan” is Tagalog for someone from the Philippines living abroad. Our play Balikbayan is about a son uncovering his mysterious father’s past while wrestling with the definition of masculinity across generations and cultures. And it’s also an homage to the 80’s sci-fi classic Back to the Future, where “absolute dream” Marty McFly is still inspiring us to change the present by examining the past.  

And the whole thing is set in motion with a son’s epic fail of a eulogy at his dad’s funeral.

Team:

Adriano Sobretodo Jr. – Lead Writer/Co-Producer

Matthew Walker – Director/Co-Creator/Co-Producer

Atanas Bozdarov – Lead Designer/Co-Creator

Althea Balmes – Associate Designer/Accessibility Assistant/Co-Creator

Marie Barlizo – Dramaturge/Co-Creator

Acknowledgements:

Litmus Theatre thanks the following supporters for Development Phase 1 of Balikbayan.