We are delighted to be once again partnering with the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) to support year-long research fellowships for early-career international scholars at the at the University of Edinburgh. In this article one of our two new fellows for 2026, Elsie Albis (Ateneo de Naga University, Naga City, Philippines), introduces her project and describes how research, art and storytelling can combine to amplify the voices of rural communities and build climate resilience in her home province.

I am a young scholar and a theatre practitioner from the Philippines, currently serving as an Associate Professor at the Ateneo de Naga University, Naga City, Philippines. My creative and scholarly works are rooted in the performing arts and Bikol culture. My dissertation explored the role of cultural memory in Bikol theatre production, while my creative practice spans writing, directing, producing, and performing in campus-based and community-based stage productions. I have also been selected for three national writers’ workshops in the Philippines, which have greatly helped me in refining my voice and style.

I am a daughter of farmers, and I have seen their struggles every typhoon season. Every storm means losses. I see them fix what remains. I hope to tell their stories because they reflect the plight of ordinary citizens in my country. 

I believe in the power of storytelling – stories survive. Art survives. I hope that through my creative and research practices, I contribute to the survival of Filipino stories and offer a space to discuss the plight of the people greatly affected by climate change.

‘This is for me’

I first saw this opportunity on Facebook in July 2025, three weeks before the deadline. I studied hard and reviewed every aspect of the fellowship, because deep in my heart I knew that my research project would perfectly align with the British Council and IASH objectives. I even told myself, ‘This is for me.’ I said it because it is quite rare to see opportunities in the humanities. The moment I saw that this fellowship was about arts, language, education, and decoloniality, I knew that what I intended to write would fit.

Through this fellowship, I aim to reimagine global Shakespeare through the stories of rural Bikolnon farmers who always endure the destruction of their homes and livelihood every typhoon season. Professor Charlotte Bosseaux has kindly agreed to serve as my mentor at the University of Edinburgh. Her work will serve as one of my frameworks in coming up with an ethical and ecocritical translation of The Tempest in the Bikol language. I will also be analyzing some Bikol translations of Shakespeare from different periods and writers.

From the page to the stage

This project began after my province experienced extreme flooding in October 2024, brought by Storm KristinePh. And just last November 9, we faced another devastating typhoon, Super Typhoon Uwan, which left my home province in shambles. No electricity for days. Internet connection interrupted. Houses destroyed. Farmlands flooded. 

Theatre, for me, is a space for remembering and rebuilding.

As natural and human-induced disasters intensify, so must the efforts of researchers and artists to engage in dialogues with the rural communities, elevating these concerns through the arts. 

I see this not only as an academic pursuit, but as an act of advocacy that amplifies the voices of rural communities and links local memory to global conversations.

The visible and invisible stories of my home province need to survive all the ecological and political tempests that we experience. My people have countless stories to tell. This opportunity with the University of Edinburgh and British Council can aid in transforming our narratives from the page to the Bikolise Shakespearean stage. Theatre, by nature, is a collaborative and communal art form. 

Crossing and collaboration: dakit and pakikipagkatuod

The University of Edinburgh through its Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) is an ideal place for this collaboration given its scholarship on Shakespeare and initiatives for environmental concerns, decoloniality, and global partnerships. I hope to contribute to and learn from this community, particularly on how they put value on rigorous studies that can be translated into impactful community engagement.

By looking into the Bikolisation of Shakespeare with the rural community as a target audience, this project ultimately supports IASH’s agenda of empowering local knowledge and the British Council’s goal of supporting peace and prosperity through connections, understanding and trust. These objectives are inherent in two key concepts that lie at the heart of my project: dakit (crossing) – one of the root words for the Bikol term for translation (dakitaramon) – and pakikipagkatuod (collaboration) in enduring, remembering, and responding to the tempests we universally face.

I believe the UK and the British Council can offer vital platforms to amplify Bikolnon voices in international scholarly and creative exchanges.

The British Council has already supported the staging of The Tempest Reimagined in Quezon City, Philippines in 2016. This time it will be in the Bikol Region, Southern Luzon – my home province. The region endures at least five storms a year, intensified by climate change. This collaboration can become an act of remembering and rebuilding – preserving our homes, heritage, and stories that are increasingly at risk in an era marked by political neglect and environmental crisis. 

In the university where I teach, we have the Ateneo Language Training Center, which is in partnership with the British Council of the Philippines. This office can serve as a potential partner during the staging of my adaptation and knowledge sharing from my fellowship. The Taragbo Bikol Theater Network, a group comprising theatre organizations in Bikol which I am a member of, can also help in mobilizing the production. Most of the creative and cultural events in the country are held in Manila. With this project, we can bring Bikolise Shakespeare to rural communities, who also deserve to witness stories that resonate with them.

What lies ahead … 

As someone from the Philippines, I will need to adapt quickly to the cold weather in Edinburgh in January! I’m used to more than 30 degrees… Yet kidding aside, this is a dream come true for me. I never thought that doing what I love and what I am very passionate about would open doors to rare opportunities such as this. 

I can’t wait to read more about Shakespeare and to meet and engage in dialogues with Edinburgh scholars and with the British Council. 

I can’t wait to write, to share the stories of my people, and to share with fellow Filipinos the outcome of my project. I hope I will give justice to their narratives. 

Art is sincere. Theatre is for the people and by the people. May this project make the Bikolnons and my parents proud.