This set focused on relationships that bind different people to one another. Here we see relatedness grounded on duty, ideals, desires, vices, and bonds of friendship and family that transcend all things, even death.
KapusoThe first play,
Las Mentiras de Gloria, brings back the powerful tandem of playwright Layeta Bucoy and director Tuxqs Rutaquio. Like their
Ellas Inocentes, dubbed by many as the previous Labfest’s best entry, this play is another gripping offering.
May Bayot’s sweet and haunting voice opens the play and immediately sets its somber mood. We learn that she is Gloria, a teacher who has recently died of cancer. She enters the bathroom where she finds her twin brother, Utoy and converses with him. Utoy cleans the bathroom and preps it, “Para magmukhang pangmayaman,” just as Gloria informed her colleagues at the university where she taught when she was living. Still connected to Gloria in her death, Utoy is compelled to follow her final requests to maintain her lies to visiting colleagues. Gloria edges Utoy on and lets him grapple with the complexity of her stories. We learn of more secrets these two keep until the revelation of their darkest secret that, like their home, even they cannot sanitize.
As with her other Festival entry, Layeta Bucoy’s writing is as intense as ever. Based on her two Labfest plays alone, one starts to think that she specializes in dysfunctional families and their secrets. (I do pray that these are simply her imaginings.) I look forward to more of her powerful writing, be it about family members that are too close for comfort (once again), or any other topic at that.
Direction and acting are tremendous in this production. Tuxqs Rutaquio is really an all-around theater figure, excelling in production design, acting, and directing as well. Although the play’s text is heavy and demanding, his strong direction allows it to keep its grip on the audience all the way to its disturbing end. May Bayot, whom I adored in
Himala the Musical, showcases her dramatic acting prowess. All at the same time, we feel her anguish as Gloria, pity her for maintaining her lies, and loathe her for her grip on Utoy. Bart Guingona was good as well, yet we feel his uneasiness with Filipino as he sometimes stumbles in his delivery. That aside, though, his performance matches Bayot’s intensity.
The play’s teaser poster shows the leads irreverently mimicking the Twin Sacred Hearts image. This surreal picture was recreated again in the play’s end. Indeed, Gloria and Utoy are inseparable in life, despair, and sin. If Bucoy and Rutaquio’s pairing is as strong as the twins’ (sans the dysfunction and scandal), then we can only expect greater things from them in the future.
KabisyoCarlo Garcia’s
Ang Mga Halimaw (direction by Paolo O’ Hara) was the next offering in the set. This time around, the interplay among criminals is tackled. A mix of outspoken hoodlums exchanges beliefs and experiences of power all in a wild cab ride through the night. Among these crazed criminals are a troubled taxi driver, a power-hungry transsexual, a man with wings, and a junkie pregnant woman. In the end, we fear these monsters of society; yet start to empathize with their struggles (even if the entire sense of the material is hard to grasp).
This self-confessed surreo-realist play takes time to digest. Still, with its often-confusing text, hilarious moments reach the audience clearly and the parts are well played. JK Anicoche, Amihan Ruiz, Alvin Obillo, and Isab Martinez contribute equally to this play and form a tight troupe of crooks. The set, limited to a grungy yet interestingly constructed taxi, provides an apt venue for the riotous interactions.
It may be obvious that there’s not much I can write about this one. Oddly, among all the productions I’ve seen, this one’s like a blur. (I don’t know why! I guess the light surrealism got to me in the end and left my mind wandering.) Maybe I need a second screening or something for a more lasting imprint and, perhaps, a better understanding of the play.
KapamilyaThe final play of the set is Hase Hiroichi’s
Amoy ng Langit, translated into Filipino by Rody Vera and directed by Toshihisa Yoshida. This play follows a group of Japanese schoolgirls who hang out illegally on the school’s rooftop. Here, they encounter a spirit, whom they later learn is a girl who committed suicide and is a sister to one of them.
The play looks interesting from the written synopsis. Alas, the play fails to deliver a riveting account on this encounter with the spirit. Hinging on Japanese cultural references and imagery, the play begins well. We see the young girls in “Sailor Moon” garb, singing along their J-pop, and clicking away on their camera phones. Their initial exchanges are interesting, especially in mixing Filipino with Japanese mannerisms.
As the show progresses, however, it simply plateaus. You keep on expecting it to go deeper and become more intense, yet the climax never arrives. The only high point is when Mailes Kanapi takes the stage as the rollicking neurotic teacher. You just have to admire her for her willingness to take on such unexpected roles. She’s a theater diva who can really just work with anything and make it special. What a true tragedy it would have been had Mr. Hiroichi not written-in the teacher’s character.
The set of three ended as it began: with another dead persona reaching out to a family member. Although
Amoy ng Langit ended on a positive note, contrary to the first play’s conclusion, it leaves one wanting more. In the end, it is the controversial family relationship that draws us in, and not the one that has a clear resolution.
The ties that bindOur relationships form the meat of most writings. Even common media forms rush to use one of these relationship terms to bring themselves closer to their audience: “kapamilya”, “kapuso”, “kabisyo”, “kabagang”, “kabarkada”, “kakosa”, “kachika”, “ka-whateverwordyouwant.” Our warped, loving, sad, hopeful, confused, comedic, scandalous, joyous interactions with our loved ones will always be troves of theatrical gems. We watch in hope, though, that what we get are polished ones and not products akin to the giant networks’ imposed relationships.
The Virgin Labfest just ended, but let's hope the best productions are restaged in the future.
Pictures used in this entry are from theater critic Mr. Joey Ting. (Check out his articles in the Manila Times and his website as well.)Next: Labfest 3 Revisited, Labfest wrap-up, and a post on ENTABLADO's amazing TARONG, which you have to see.
