Daniel Bye in the Philippines

It's dangerous to generalise across an entire theatrical culture on the basis of a week-long visit, but in my experience the Filipinos love high-concept musicals. At the first venue in which I performed, the main, long-running hit show was Rak of Aegis, a rock musical about last year's typhoon featuring the songs of Filipino girl group Aegis. At the second, the main show was Kleptomaniacs, a rap musical about street kids in Manila.

In this context, a solo performance lecture/storytelling show about price and value was starting to look like a shaky prospect. The further away from home I perform, the more distinct from my own experience the cultural context in which I'm being hosted, the more uncertainty there is about how the show will be received. Having done a few international gigs over the last year, that anxiety has started to dissipate, but there are always new surprises. Here, it was the requirement to play the national anthem directly before the performance, for which the audience stand. I usually stroll onto the stage under the background music that has been playing since the house opened, looking a little bit as though I might have just wandered in off the street. It's hard to maintain that low-key tone when the audience are sitting in expectant, patriotic silence.

"The further away from home I perform, the more distinct from my own experience the cultural context in which I'm being hosted..."

(I declined the offer to play my own national anthem. Despite touring under the aegis of the British Council, this is a show built on profound scepticism about the political culture of my country. More to the point, my national anthem is called God Save the Queen. I'm an atheist and a republican. Even if it didn't have a dreadful tune, it wouldn't really speak for me.) This is, after all, a country with absolutely no culture of solo performance; none. The only time people perform solo is in karaoke bars. Are they going to expect me to do an Aegis number?

As with all such occasions, though, I needn't have worried. The artistic directors of both venues at which I performed, the Cultural Centre of the Philippines and PETA Theater saw the show in Edinburgh last year. They thought it would work for their audiences. And they know their audiences better than I do, so who am I to doubt them?

"Every international show I've ever done, I've found myself thinking, I'd like to perform to you guys every night."

The audience were, accordingly, incredibly warm and enthusiastic. Every international show I've ever done, I've found myself thinking, I'd like to perform to you guys every night. Manila's performances were no exception. Helped by the venues, which managed to seat 150+ while remaining as intimate as 40-seaters, the show was as relaxed, playful and spontaneous as it's ever been. I enjoyed myself so much, I'm now developing a high-concept musical, just to increase my chances of getting to go back.

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Daniel Bye took his show, The Price of Everything, to the Philippines after being part of the British Council's Edinburgh Showcase in 2013. Follow @DanielBye on Twitter, and follow @UKTheatreDance for all of the latest news, updates and blogs.