Lambana
Of Myths and Men
Nuno sa punso, or The Mound Dweller, played by actor Noel Blanco
I grew up hearing my elders say “tabi-tabi po” as a way of saying “excuse me” when entering or passing by a place where folkloric spirits may be living. This is to avoid any illness or malady that the spirits may inflict upon you, should they be offended for whatever reason. I’ve heard scary tales about mythological creatures like the tiyanak, manananggal, kapre, duwende, and more. I think these bizarre tales, even if they scared the daylights out of me, led me to my love of dark and twisted tales coming from authors like Anne Rice and Neil Gaiman.
Lola Mila, played by Jenny Chua, with Get Lost kiddos Naya, Erin, and Talia
So when I saw the post from Tipsy Tales looking for writers to join them on an immersive experience called Lambana, I emailed them right away to express my interest.
What is Tipsy Tales?
“Tipsy Tales is immersive entertainment - physical spaces turned into multi-sensory worlds for you to enjoy your own surreal adventure in with family and friends.”
If you’re from the same generation as I am, then you may be familiar with the book series called Choose Your Own Adventure. Lambana is a dark and twisted fairy tale adventure, and what you’ll experience is going to be based on your choices and answers as you interact with the characters of the play.
Reluctant Heroes
The little ones requested for a kid-friendly version but their hearts were still pounding so fast as we entered the world of Lambana. All of them had an adult to hug, but I must admit that I myself got freaked out as soon as we walked through the doors. We didn’t know what to expect and the fear of the unknown kind of played with our minds.
Lola Mila
Talia, Naya, and Erin with the duwende (gnome, dwarf, or little spirit), portrayed by Joyce Miranda
Sirena, or mermaid, played by Karla Bautista
I don’t want to write too much about what went on during our one-hour adventure with Tipsy Tales as it may unintentionally contain some spoilers, but here are some thoughts and tips from our reluctant heroes. At some point during the immersive experience you may be separated into smaller groups, so these soundbites are based on different encounters during our time in the dark world of Lambana.
(L-R) Talia and Kaye
““...it was more of a horror / thriller experience. That’s coming from someone who chose the child-friendly version of the play! I screamed a lot. Ran a lot, too. I love how everything was set up . . . from the storyline, acting, and the set . . . everything felt so real! I’m definitely going back to experience the original version!”
(L-R) Lola Mila and Naya
“Naya thought it was going to be really scary but when they made it kid-friendly, she enjoyed it a lot because she got to perform like being in a play. Tipsy Tales can be enjoyed by anyone since it’s improv. They can adjust their characters depending on the audience so that the latter can really immerse in the play as promised.”
Kaye, writer of this article
“Don’t be afraid to explore. We were amazed (and a bit freaked out) when we saw my name on a school diploma with the correct school and course.”
(L-R) Actress Karla Bautista, Naya, and Erin
“I got scared but I got used to it. In one room you would dream about scary stuff but we didn’t dream since it was theatre. It was a magical experience!””
(L-R) Erin, Ana, Naya, Kaye, Talia, and Miguel
“Be a child. Play pretend like you used to. Be game. Be in character. Roll with the story. ”
Enter the Twisted World of Lambana
Lambana is a forest spirit and it represents many of the characters that you’ll encounter during the show. The first of its kind in the country, we hope you’ll get the chance to escape reality even just for a bit and immerse yourself in the whimsical and surreal experience brought to you by the amazing Tipsy Tales team.
Tipsy Tales will be at Eastwood Mall until August 2020 and the storyline may change early next year. Ticket price is Php 2,000.00 per head but there’s an ongoing Halloween promo with tickets at only Php 999.00 each, to be purchased until November 15, 2019 and to be used until November 30, 2019. We heard that a much creepier version of Lambana will be released this Halloween season where the creatures get more frightening, unhinged, and fully deranged!
We’re already making plans to go back . . . hope to see you there!