A forgotten Filipino heroine is stepping into the spotlight once more—this time on stage. This Is My Name, an electrifying new musical in development by UK-based Filipino theatre-makers Dominique La Victoria and Melisa Camba, will be showcased at Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musicals Showcase on Thursday, March 6, 2024.
A story erased by history, now reclaimed
The musical follows Señora Maria del Rosario Gil y Montes de Sanchiz, a bold activist and writer who earned the moniker Madre de los Filipinos (Mother of the Filipinos) for her dissent against Spanish colonial rule. Rumoured to be the mistress of Governor-General de la Torre, on a fateful night in September 1869, she arrived at a ball in Malacañang Palace wearing ribbons in her hair saying VIVA LA LIBERTAD (Long Live Freedom) and VIVA EL PUEBLO SOBERANO (Long Live the Sovereign Nation). Her defiance angered colonial officials and friars, leading to her erasure from history.
In this one-woman musical, the audience is transported to the moments before her grand entrance. In the intimacy of her bedroom, Señora prepares for the night ahead—rehearsing her speech, confronting her fears, and singing the story of love, scandal, and resistance that defined her life. With each note, she reclaims her name and her place in history.
A rising new musical in development
This Is My Name is the work of Glasgow-based award-winning playwright Dominique La Victoria and London-based actor and singer Melissa Camba. The musical was selected for The Overture Program (2023), a musical theatre development scheme led by Burnt Lemon Theatre and The REcreate Agency, culminating in a showcase at The Other Palace, London. In 2024, it became part of Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre Writers Group, a year-long mentorship program guided by writer and dramaturg Victoria Saxton and composer and musical director Tim Sutton. Songs from the musical were also performed in Manila by Melisa Camba at the concert ‘Halfway Home: A Musical Revue’ in August 2024.
Ms La Victoria’s plays have been staged and read in the Philippines, US, UK, Malaysia, and Japan. Her critically acclaimed play Ang Bata sa Drum was staged in the Virgin Labfest in 2016 and 2017 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), published in the 3rd Virgin Labfest Anthology, and won in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. Her play Toward the Fires of Revolution (inspired by the short story Odd and Ugly by Vida Cruz) also won at the Palanca Awards and was read at the Soho Theatre in London in 2018. The play was translated into Filipino by Gentle Mapagu as Kislap at Fuego for staging at the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA) in 2024 and 2025.
Ms Camba composed the songs for This Is My Name in collaboration with Dominique. She has played Meg March in Little Women: The Broadway Musical (Dugdale Arts Centre) and as Namira in The Legends of Arahma (The Actor’s Church).
The showcase will take place on Thursday, March 6, with performances at 1:30 PM and 7:15 PM. Tickets are priced at £8 in advance / £10 on the day and are available now at Birmingham Hippodrome’s website. Other exciting new musicals developed through the scheme will also be featured in the showcase, offering audiences a sneak peek into the future of musical theatre.
Don’t miss this powerful new musical that brings a forgotten Filipina heroine back to life. Book your tickets now.
