Ruby Slippers Theatre premieres Abi Padilla's Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla., February 6 to 16

Heartwarming, hilarious play is presented in association with the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Presentation House Theatre, and Blackout Art Society

SPONSORED POST BY Ruby Slippers Theatre

Abi Padilla in Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla. Photo by Emily Cooper

 
 

Ruby Slippers Theatre presents the world premiere of Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla. by Abi Padilla in association with the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Presentation House Theatre, and Blackout Art Society from February 6 to 8 and 13 to 16.

Audiences are invited to witness this hilarious and heartwarming tale that is not a traumatizing story about war crimes, dementia, or getting old. On the contrary, Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla. is a sprint down memory lane of a butt-kickin’, bar-spittin’, tough grandma who escapes the care home to be with her family.

When beloved Filipino grandma Lola Basyang goes missing, it’s up to her grandchildren Nika and Jun-jun to bring her back to safety. Using their Lola’s unfinished memoir, the two find clues that lead to her whereabouts, simultaneously uncovering details about her full-of-beans origin story and the historical turmoil of their motherland. Reminiscing on their immigration stories, Nika and Jun-jun reflect on what it means to maintain family ties in a Western society.

Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla. started as a 15-minute solo show created by Padilla while she was a Studio 58 acting-program student at Langara College. It has since evolved into a full-length play directed by Leslie Dos Remedios, with historical elements inspired by both of Padilla’s grandmothers, who were children during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in the 1940s.

Audiences will get to experience the comfort of everyday laughter and the thrill of juicy gossip in Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla., along with such elements as fun fight choreography, rap songs, and culture-infused dark humour. Padilla herself will star in the production alongside cast members Yorlene Bernido, Evelyn Chew, Kevin Nguyen, Vince Sendrijas, Raugi Yu, and Terrence Zhou.

Performances will take place at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby from February 6 to 8 at 7:30 pm and on February 8 at 2 pm, and at Presentation House Theatre in North Vancouver from February 13 to 15 at 7:30 pm and on February 15 & 16 matinees at 2 pm.

Tickets can be purchased through the Shadbolt Centre and Presentation House Theatre. More information is available at Ruby Slippers Theatre.


Post sponsored by Ruby Slippers Theatre.

 
 
 

Related Articles

Featured
Metro Theatre ratchets up the suspense with And Then There Were None
Metro Theatre ratchets up the suspense with And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie’s classic play is one of the legendary writer’s most haunting and sophisticated works

Applications for Realwheels Theatre's second Academy cohort are open now to March 15
Applications for Realwheels Theatre's second Academy cohort are open now to March 15

Performing arts training program for D/disability-identified artists will run from September 2025 to June 2028

Theatre review: Primary Trust finds simple wisdom in small-town life
Theatre review: Primary Trust finds simple wisdom in small-town life

Andrew Broderick leads a versatile cast through Eboni Booth’s quietly endearing play

At Western Front, Fish Tail unfolds as an epistolary narrative, February 20
At Western Front, Fish Tail unfolds as an epistolary narrative, February 20

The one-woman performance and installation is by Montreal’s Marie Ségolène Brault

Théâtre la Seizième presents a staged reading of À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou, February 21 and 22
Théâtre la Seizième presents a staged reading of À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou, February 21 and 22

Sébastien David directs Michel Tremblay’s tragic play as part of the ÉCHO(S) series

Theatre review: Women of the Fur Trade is a clever, anarchic take on Canadian history
Theatre review: Women of the Fur Trade is a clever, anarchic take on Canadian history

Every performance, under Donna Spencer’s breezy direction, is consistently funny and fully realized

A world premiere, Indigenous satire and musical, and more as The Cultch presents four March offerings
A world premiere, Indigenous satire and musical, and more as The Cultch presents four March offerings

Tickets are now on sale for Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer, How to Disappear Completely, Children of God, and Beauty and The Beast: My Life

Metro Theatre presents Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, March 1 to 22
Metro Theatre presents Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, March 1 to 22

After last season’s hit The Mousetrap, a new adaptation of a thrilling masterpiece by the queen of mystery hits the stage

Otosan makes a local comeback at Gateway Theatre, February 17 to 22
Otosan makes a local comeback at Gateway Theatre, February 17 to 22

The puppetry show was a hit at last year’s Vancouver International Children’s Festival

Theatre review: Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla. dives into wild mix of immigrant dramedy, wartime recollection, and musical interludes
Theatre review: Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla. dives into wild mix of immigrant dramedy, wartime recollection, and musical interludes

Cast finds both humour and heart in Ruby Slippers premiere by playwright Abi Padilla

Actor Andrew Broderick forges connections in Pulitzer Prize-winning Primary Trust
Actor Andrew Broderick forges connections in Pulitzer Prize-winning Primary Trust

In the Arts Club production, his recently laid-off and all-too-relatable character Kenneth learns to face a world he’s long avoided

Theatre review: Wonderful Joe’s eccentric puppet characters fight the forces of gentrification
Theatre review: Wonderful Joe’s eccentric puppet characters fight the forces of gentrification

With a more melancholy undercurrent behind the biting laughs, Ronnie Burkett’s latest show gives voice to the marginalized and the misunderstood

Women of the Fur Trade cheekily shifts historical accounts to tell women’s stories of the Red River Resistance
Women of the Fur Trade cheekily shifts historical accounts to tell women’s stories of the Red River Resistance

Frances Koncan’s play looks at the fur trade through the perspectives of a Métis woman, a First Nations woman, and a settler woman

Pi Theatre presents the world premiere of A Taste of Hong Kong, March 6 to 15
Pi Theatre presents the world premiere of A Taste of Hong Kong, March 6 to 15

Brought to the stage in association with Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, production stars Derek Chan in a tasting class and history lesson

Theatre review: Lasa Ng Imperyo (A Taste of Empire) delivers biting critique of the role of imperialism on the food we eat
Theatre review: Lasa Ng Imperyo (A Taste of Empire) delivers biting critique of the role of imperialism on the food we eat

The show by rice & beans theatre presented by PuSh Festival and Boca del Lupo moves swiftly with sharp satire

Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla. depicts a "sassy old lady" with a sense of humour
Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla. depicts a "sassy old lady" with a sense of humour

Abi Padilla’s new play draws inspiration from both of her grandmothers

Gateway Theatre presents Little Onion Puppet Company's Otosan, February 17 to 22
Gateway Theatre presents Little Onion Puppet Company's Otosan, February 17 to 22

Heartwarming family adventure is told through puppetry, real wildlife projections, and an original score

A Doll’s House, Part 2 returns to Vancouver in Pacific Theatre presentation, February 5 to 23
A Doll’s House, Part 2 returns to Vancouver in Pacific Theatre presentation, February 5 to 23

Western Gold Theatre production explores the aftermath of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 play A Doll’s House

At PuSh Festival, Dimanche delves into the surreal way people live amid climate change
At PuSh Festival, Dimanche delves into the surreal way people live amid climate change

Belgium’s Chaliwaté and Focus Company joined forces to create the fantastical nonverbal production

Puppeteer Ronnie Burkett’s Wonderful Joe asks us to suspend disbelief
Puppeteer Ronnie Burkett’s Wonderful Joe asks us to suspend disbelief

The master storyteller’s latest play opens with Joe and his dog facing ejection from their longtime home, with seemingly nowhere to go

Advance Theatre Festival is back at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts until January 31
Advance Theatre Festival is back at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts until January 31

Ruby Slippers Theatre presents five staged readings of works by IPBOC playwrights, including Damion LeClair’s Rougarou, Carmen Aguirre’s The Consent Club, and more

THEATREStir VancouverPartner Content, Ruby Slippers Theatre, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Presentation House Theatre, Blackout Art Society