It’s been two and a half decades since the independent comedy film Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank first broke barriers and became the country’s highest grossing Filipino independent film for over five years. This was followed by another sequel in 2015 and then an iWant mini series run in 2019 where actress Eugene Domingo continued to play a larger-than-life version of herself in hilarious satires that gave the audience a closer look at the process of indie and mainstream filmmaking.
This year, Eugene stars in the PETA production of Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4: Oh S*t! It’s Live sa Cheter! where she is joined by a fresh new cast of meta characters, starting with the original Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank director Marlon Rivera who plays the director of Eugene’s new show and Palanca-winning playwright Joshua Lim So. They are joined by other theater personalities — JC Santos, Andoy Ranay, Melvin Lee, Meann Espinosa, and Stella Cañete-Mendoza — who play themselves in the production.
In this fresh, new, installment written by Chris Martinez, Eugene brings together this group of specially selected friends to help her bring to life her vision of staging a fresh, new version of Aurelio Tolentino’s revolutionary play Kahapon, Ngayon, at Bukas. Longtime fans of Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank will definitely not be disappointed with the amount of quick wit, fast-paced storytelling, and characters that will keep them engaged for the play’s entire two-hour run. But even if you have not seen any of the past films, PETA’s latest production can stand on its own as a highly entertaining and impressive production that even the Gen Z crowd won’t feel left out of.
For this iteration, Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4 puts the focus on the supposed Golden Age of Philippine theater and all the things that come with each new production, including putting up with the inflated ego of its main star and just how much is too much when it comes to revising a play. But even with Eugene’s character lording over the production, there is no negligible presence in this play. From its main cast members to the equally talented ensemble (lovingly called the “Ugeng-gengs” or young stunnas), the casting of this show is definitively on point. Which is also why it only makes sense that they have no understudies for all their 50 scheduled shows, guaranteeing that every ticket buyer gets the same talented cast that brings this fantastic show together.
From the opening scene up until the unbelievable finale, Eugene is undeniably the heart and soul of this production. In this show, Eugene proves that she is not only impressive onscreen, but an even more commanding presence on stage. Fans of the original film will not only enjoy her irreverent acting and signature humor, they will also be impressed with the physicality of her character all throughout the show, with scenes that have her dancing, singing, doing sports, and going through that not-so-subtle signature scene included in the previous films.
Although the play has the challenge of enticing movie fans to shell out more for a theater ticket, Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4: Oh S*t! It’s Live sa Cheter! will definitely make this a worthwhile experience for first-time theater goers, as well as returning theater fans. Eugene and the rest of the cast of this production do not hold back in giving their best, plus so much more in this live performance.
Catch Eugene Domingo in Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4 until August 16, 2026, at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City. Tickets are available through TicketWorld at bit.ly/SepticTank4Tickets.
