Nana Rosa
Photo by So Antolin
Nana Rosa is an award-winning play by the UP Playwrights’ Theatre staged in 2019 and 2020, with the second staging cut short when the pandemic hit. The play follows the story of Rosa Henson, who was the first comfort woman to come forward with her story in the early 1990s, and the journey towards justice that followed.
After its two stagings, Nana Rosa was nominated at the 2020 ALIW Awards for “Best Stage Director for a Play” for José Estrella and “Best Lead Actress in a Play” for Peewee O’Hara, with O’Hara winning the award. The play also received recognition at the 2020 Philippine LEAF Awards, with nominations for “Outstanding Play” and “Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role” for Krystle Valentino. The script, written by Rody Vera, won third place in the Dulaang Pampelikula category at the Carlos Palanca Awards in 2019.
Many members of the cast and production also constantly work with Lila Pilipina, the organization dedicated to caring for the remaining lolas (grandmothers) who are survivors of the abuses, to continuously fight for the cause of our comfort women through supporting their projects and rallies.
Roles: Nelia Sancho (lead), Amonita Balajadia
Written by Rody Vera
Direction by José Estrella, MFA
Assistant Direction by Charles Yee and Issa Manalo Lopez
Dramaturgy by Ina Azarcon-Bolivar, Eudes Garcia, and Bienangela Mapagu
Set Design by Charles Yee
Lighting Design by Barbie Tan-Tiongco
Sound Design by Jon Lazam and Marie Angelica Dayao
Projection and Projection Design by Joyce Garcia
UP Playwrights’ Theatre
Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater (2019-20)
Photos by So Antolin and I.R. Arenas
“More than anything, ‘Nana Rosa’ compels us to remember just as Rosa Henson chose to.”
— This play tells the urgent story of a Filipino comfort woman by Chang Casal, CNN Philippines
“At Dulaang UP, we can hear our grandmothers' ardent plea in a heartfelt production that's alternately mournful and optimistic.”
— BWW Review: DUP's NANA ROSA Is Alternately Mournful And Optimistic by Robert Encila-Celdran, BroadwayWorld Philippines
“Nana Rosa is not an easy play to watch, but in today’s reality of rape jokes and misogynist leaders who are attempting to rewrite the past, it is all the more necessary that we do so.”
— No comfort in the passage of time by Katarina Lopez, Daily Tribune
“This is a story that should resonate in any contentious, memory-challenged time.”
— ‘Nana Rosa’: Horror and humanity beyond rape by Arturo Hilado, Philippine Daily Inquirer
“Immensely haunting, Rody Vera's Nana Rosa is a painful retelling of the struggles, injustices, and abuses done to Filipina comfort women by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.”
— 10 Filipino Plays on Our Streaming Wish Lists by Christa I. De La Cruz, spot.ph
“UP Playwright’s Theatre leaves a note on the audiences’ mind that they should never forget the past for it may become their answer for the future.”
— Nana Rosa: A tribute to the Filipina comfort woman in WWII’s 80th anniversary by Hannah Louise Pascua, Art Plus Magazine
