Saturday, August 20, 2016

Review of Red Turnips' TRIBES: Deconstructing Deafness

August 20, 2016




The theater scene in Manila is really alive and relevant. Recent plays I've seen have tackled the most difficult, most uncomfortable subject matter. "The Normal Heart" was about AIDS. "Suicide Incorporated" was about Suicide. "Katips" was against historical revisionism with regards to Martial Law. Now here comes "Tribes" which tackles another sensitive topic not commonly depicted in theater -- Deafness. After staging complex plays like "Rabbit Hole" and "33 Variations," we can really count on Red Turnips to come up with the most intellectually-challenging productions.

"Tribes" is an award-winning play written by British playwright Nina Raine in 2010. This current local production is helmed by Topper Fabregas. The theater area of the Power Mac Spotlight Center was transformed into the first floor of a middle class Jewish-British household with its living room and dining room by set designer Ed Lacson, Jr. The layout of the stage and the audience areas was very different from how it looked in the last Red Turnip production, "Constellations". It would be exciting to see how flexible this area can be rearranged to fit the requirements of future productions staged here. 

Billy was born deaf. He lives with his ever-quarreling family, who had raised him to read lips and talk, never to sign. His father Christopher is an acerbic academic and critic. His mother Beth is caught up in writing her very first detective novel. His two elder siblings are aimless young adults still living with their parents. Brother Daniel is a bum bothered by voices he hears in his head. Sister Ruth is a frustrated opera singer desperate for a boyfriend.

One day Billy meets and falls in love a pretty and articulate girl named Sylvia, a hearing girl born of deaf parents. Sylvia teaches Billy how to sign and gets him to learn more and get immersed into the world of the deaf that his family had painstakingly sheltered him from his whole life. Billy comes into belated realizations about his life, his handicap and his dysfunctional family. All this while though, Sylvia was having her own adjustments to go through as her own hearing fades.

The first scene of the show was not easy to watch because it was very noisy. The characters were oftentimes shouting, cursing, boisterous, vociferous, talking over each other at the same time. The effect to emphasize the isolation of the deaf member of the family definitely worked. In our efforts to get our voice heard, we can inadvertently leave a deaf person out of the loop, and this message was clearly delivered. The family of Billy were initially portrayed like the antagonists of the play. They were the family from hell, it seems, with their egotistical pursuits and philosophies. They seemed unmindful of their effect on Billy and his handicap, despite caring for him deeply.

Despite spewing invectives with every sentence, Teroy Guzman's masterful delivery of his lines as the dad Christopher was so captivating in his very naturally-accented British English. The ever-delightful Dolly de Leon plays the ditzy and sympathetic mother Beth. Sassy Thea Yrastorza played Ruth with her brand of humorous exasperation. Cris Pasturan had the misfortune of being given the unenviable role of Daniel, who for me most unsympathetic character in this play. It would a big challenge for any actor to make the audience understand him, if at all. It felt rough going in the first half for Pasturan, but we finally get him in the second half.

Kalil Almonte had to deliver Billy's lines with that certain airy resonance like how we usually hear deaf people speak, and I bet that was difficult to do for the entire hour and twenty minutes of play time. For the whole first act, he was relatively reserved and reticent, simply reacting to the people around him. He finally made his mark in the second act when he discovered how to get people to listen to him and declares a bold decision to his family -- the big dramatic moment of the whole play. 

For me, the standout actor in the ensemble was Angela A. Padilla giving life to the extraordinary character of Sylvia. Every scene she was in was a highlight. She will make us fall in love with Sylvia like how Billy did on their first meeting. She will mesmerize us with her calm dignity like how Billy's family were at their first dinner together. She will break our hearts in that scene in the second act when she described how she was losing her hearing. Ms. Padilla looked great and had strong stage presence. Her line delivery was so natural and fluid. Her acting was so real and heartfelt. Her piano scene was divine.

In my line of work, I encounter a lot of patients with hearing disability. When their hearing loss is severe to profound, they are not easy to communicate with, especially if they do not have a hearing aid. Early in my career, I tried to learn Sign Language in order to be able to communicate with them. However after finishing the lessons, I slowly lost the skills due to lack of usage and practice. I deeply regret that I never picked that language up again, especially as I was watching this particular play. 

The play tackled a lot of issues about the deaf we hearing people take for granted. It brought up a lot of misconceptions we have about the social interactions of deaf people. This was all very fascinating to learn about. The show I watched yesterday afternoon was specially dedicated for deaf audiences. The whole play was subtitled via a projection of the script on the wall. I am very curious what these deaf members of the audience thought of the issues taken up during the show. Too bad there had not been a Q&A session for us to learn from them, especially about the accuracy of the information presented in the Philippine setting.


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TRIBES started its run last August 5, 2016 and will run weekends up to September 4, 2016. Remaining shows: Aug 26 Friday 9pm, 27 Saturday 4pm and 8pm, 28 Sunday 4pm, September 2 Friday 9pm, 3 Saturday 4pm and 8pm and 4 Sunday 4pm and 8pm. Venue will be at the Power Mac Center Spotlight, Circuit Lane, Circuit Makati. Tickets priced from P1,254 to P1,881 via Ticketworld. 


18 comments:

  1. This is an interesting show. Not a lot of people know how to initiate a conversation with a deaf person. I too am guilty of that since I know little sign languages. I hope they can air this in the future again. It's just the first time I heard of this play, but I was able to go see Katips and it is kind of eye-opening.

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  2. wow, sounds like a very interesting plot! and so Billy, despite being born deaf, was taught to talk. i wonder is it really possible to teach a deaf to talk?

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    1. Yes it is possible for certain deaf people who can be helped by strong hearing aids. In this play, Billy was fitted with strong hearing aids by his parents and sent for speech therapy, that is why he learned how to talk.

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  3. I love how plays are becoming popular these days - always a good channel to create awareness. While this is the first time that I am hearing about Tribes, your post has gotten me curious and luckily, I still have time to watch it.

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    1. Hi Russ. Do try to catch one of their last two shows tomorrow. Hope you get to watch this show.

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  4. In my line of work, I encounter a deaf individual once in a while. I'm very grateful for interpreters. I learned to face the deaf person and talk to them directly instead of talking to the interpreter then turning back to them. When there's no interpreter, we end up writing a lot on paper. I've also learned when we encounter deaf individuals, we have to pay very close attention to make sure we understand the message they are trying to convey. This play seems to be beautifully written and I like that it's an eye opener to society.

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  5. I have a close friend who's brother was born deaf. He's one of the nicest and happiest person I know. Great review of the play Fred!

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  6. I'm pretty impressed with the arts scene in Manila as well! It's so much more vibrant than Singapore! Are they all usually in tagalog or in English?

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  7. This is extremely interesting. Being born deaf must have many challenges. However it seems his family was so helpful with teaching Billy to read lips and talk. Sylvia is amazing for teaching him to sign as well! Great post.

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  8. This is probably the most interesting play I've read about in a while! Would really love to watch this someday :D

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  9. It's nice that the relevant issues are being tackled in the theatre. This one would really raise awareness for the plight of deaf people.

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  10. I'm glad that there are plays like this that raise awareness about issues that we normally don't pay attention to. It sounds like a play that's worth watching, the storyline is fantastic.

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  11. Though, it might be a play but it sounds interesting and conveys messages. Being deaf is a great challenge and it is important to get helps from parents like this. It is worthy to be watched.

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  12. Never heard of this play from my friends who also attends theater events. Will tell this tk them

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  13. I bet it was hard to depict that accurately for the length of it. Def to be commended.

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  14. It's nice that the entertainment scene has produced stuff that is relevant in our society. This indeed raises the awareness of the situation of our deaf brothers and sisters.

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  15. Its a difficult topic even for movies and to bring it alive in theatres, it must have been one challenging task...

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  16. Oh, it's done na. Sayang. I would have loved taking my husband to see it. Would be a nice break from the usual things we do when we date. I miss watching stage shows.

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