“MAY asim pa” is an appreciative Tagalog phrase often heard in stories about middle-aged women. Literally translated, it means “still has sourness.”

Paradoxically, its connotation is far more flattering — it implies that, despite age, a woman retains an element of charm or sexual appeal.

This phrase takes center stage in Set D of the 20th edition of the Virgin Labfest (VLF XX: Hinog), the country’s premier festival of “untried, untested, and unstaged” one-act plays. “May Asim Pa” highlights three plays starring seasoned stage actresses: Bibeth Orteza in Anniversary, Peewee O’Hara in Don’t Meow for Me, Catriona, and Sherry Lara in Mommy G.

Launched in 2005 with just eight original plays, the Virgin Labfest has since become a cultural mainstay, showcasing fresh and daring works from both emerging and established playwrights, directors, and actors. This year’s edition runs from June 11 to 29 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Black Box Theater.

The festival features 12 new one-act plays grouped into four thematic sets:
Set A: Bubot (Unripe)
Set B: Manibalang (Almost Ripe)
Set C: Kinalburo (Overripe)
Set D: May Asim Pa (Still Has Zest)
Set E, titled Panghimagas (Dessert), revisits standout plays from past editions.

In Anniversary by Nelsito Gomez, Orteza plays May, a lesbian who meets Rob (Jamie Wilson), a grieving widower, while visiting her partner’s grave. Their unexpected encounter becomes a moving meditation on grief, regret and belief.
In Mommy G by Jobert Grey Landeza, Sherry Lara plays a widow celebrating her 65th birthday. During dinner, she introduces a surprising new family member, forcing her children to confront long-held beliefs and test the boundaries of familial acceptance.

In Don’t Meow for Me, Catriona by Ryan Machado, Angelica Panganiban plays a daughter about to move abroad to follow her dreams. Waiting for her bus with her mother (played by O’Hara), she confronts the emotional tug-of-war between love and sacrifice.

Both O’Hara and Orteza previously starred in Nana Rosa, a 2019 University of the Philippines production based on the life of Maria Rosa Luna Henson, the first Filipina to publicly come forward as a World War II comfort woman.

Panganiban, best known to younger audiences for her role in the 2014 film That Thing Called Tadhana with JM de Guzman, delivers a performance in Catriona that captures the delicate complexity of leaving and letting go. One memorable scene in Tadhana, set in a Baguio museum, resonated strongly with UP students—De Guzman’s frustrated monologue about competing in UP after excelling in high school became a viral favorite for its raw honesty.

Other notable plays this year include:

Set A: Bubot
Takbo, Batang Tondo by YOJ (dir. Chic San Agustin-De Guzman): explores moral conflict among kids over a theft.
Ang Bata Kag Ang Ilaga by Liane Carlo Suelan (dir. siglo): centers on an orphan boy who finds a baby rat and faces an ethical dilemma.
Polar Coordinates by Ade Valenzona (dir. Paolo O’Hara): follows a student’s internal struggles with family, identity and academic pressure.

Set B: Manibalang
Unang Araw by Ivan Villacorta Gentolizo (dir. Cholo Ledesma): features two men on a tense political journey.
Presidential Suite #2 by Siege Malvar (dir. Johnnie Moran): depicts a senator under investigation for corruption.
Minating Ni Mariah ang Manto ng Mommy ni Mama Mary by Eljay Castro Deldoc (dir. Dexter M. Santos): focuses on a reformed scammer guarding a sacred relic.

Set C: Kinalburo
Mga Magindara sa Siyudad by Chris Joseph Junio (dir. Riki Benedicto): tells the story of two peryahan performers facing obsolescence.
Ang Problema sa Trolley by Imuthis (dir. Adrienne Vergara): three strangers confront life-changing decisions on a bridge at night.
The Late Mister Real by Rolin Migyuel Obina (dir. Maynard Manansala): examines a divorced couple’s unresolved issues during their son’s departure abroad.

Set E: Panghimagas
Identité by Jhudiel Claire Sosa (dir. Meann Espinosa): a mother and daughter uncover a family secret.
Pagkapit sa Hangin by Joshua Lim So (dir. José Estrella): frontline health workers face heartbreaking choices during the Delta surge.
Sa Babaeng Lahat by Elise Santos (dir. Caisa Borromeo): explores faith, identity, and queer awakening among three Catholic schoolgirls.

The Virgin Labfest continues to be a platform where stories — especially those too often overlooked—are told with daring and authenticity. With May Asim Pa, the spotlight shines on middle-aged women whose lives are far from fading, but in fact, still full of spark.

(Peyups is a colloquial term for the University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com or call 0917-502-5808 or 0908-866-5786.)