Cosmopolitanism, Theatre, and the Philippines: Performing Community in a World of Strangers is an attempt toward a theorization of cosmopolitanism via Philippine theatre. The book’s concept is premised on a sense of belonging in a community of strangers; this comes from the firm conviction that theatre, by nature, prepares its audience to engage in a community which are both local and global. The vibrant Manila theatre scene is used as takeoff point in articulating this argument.

The first part of the book provides a general picture of how cosmopolitanism is “performed” by Filipinos. It investigates the specificity of Manila theatre as the site of the cosmopolitan experience. The second part is a series of analyses of plays that are about social issues while being realistic in their approach, but are, at the same time topicalized and editorialized—much like television shows—as social problems within the Philippine context against the massive backdrops of late capitalism and globalization.