REP: Review of BETRAYAL: Anatomy of an Affair

March 1, 2024

One day, visual artist Emma (Vanessa White) was inaugurating an art installation in her own gallery in London. After the event, she got together to talk with Jerry (James Cooney), her husband Robert's (James Bradwell) best friend. It turned out that two years ago, Emma and Jerry just ended an illicit relationship which had lasted for seven years. Jerry thought no one knew about it, but Emma told him that she had already told Robert about their affair. 

Repertory Philippines had been regularly staging English language plays and musicals every year since 1967. But after "Stage Kiss" had its run in February 2020, the next show "Anna in the Tropics" was shut down by the pandemic. They only had one show a year from 2021 to 2023. Rep comes back strong this year with its 87th season -- 4 new shows (with 2 of them original Filipino works) in a new venue -- the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at RCBC Plaza.

Rep's opens this season is "Betrayal," a classic 1978 three-hander play by Nobel Prize-winning British playwright Harold Pinter. This is Rep's first time to tackle a Pinter play. For the first time in Rep's history, three West End British actors, all with Filipino blood, were cast in the lead roles. New York and London-based actor-director Victor Lirio, also of Filipino descent, also makes his theater directorial debut in the Philippines with this project.

Pinter wrote this play with 9 scenes depicting episodes of Emma and Jerry's affair behind Robert's back, presented in reverse chronological order. The first scene was a reunion of Emma and Jerry in the present day after two years of no contact, while the final scene was the start of their affair at a party 9 years prior. Younger theatergoers will recognize this was the same style used by Jason Robert Brown in "The Last Five Years" (2001). 

Since the three main actors are actually based in London's West End, their Britishness lent more authenticity to the play. Their English accents were, of course, the real thing, with none of the inconsistent or overwrought artificiality some local actors tend to affect when playing British characters. Also, the whole play had a different feel from previous Rep plays -- everything felt toned-done and restrained, even the humor and the arguments. 

Also in the cast are Philippine-based actors Jef Flores and Regina de Vera. During the play, you'd mostly see them moving furniture and set pieces around between the scenes. Flores would also play a bit part as the Italian maître d' at a restaurant Jerry and Robert had lunch in. However, more than that, Flores is ready to cover for either Jerry or Robert in case the actors are unable to play, while de Vera is the cover for Emma. 

The set designed by Miguel Urbino was elegantly white, sparse but efficient. The centerpiece of the backdrop was a large Pacita Abad painting, which Emma had brought in from the Philippines to exhibit in her London gallery, framed by a huge rectangular arch. The lights of John Batalla were bright and glaring, to further emphasize the whiteness of the set. The resulting atmosphere in the gallery felt bleak, sterile and clinical. 

Lirio added a prologue scene at the beginning of the play set in Emma's gallery inaugurating a Filipino painting. Aside from the Filipino reference, this was supposed to set the story in Emma's point of view while staying faithful to Pinter's text. According to the post-show Q and A, Lirio also added an epilogue scene of Emma and Jerry with no dialogue, set in a darkened bar or club, to establish the attraction between them, before Robert came into the scene.

******

"Betrayal" runs from March 1 to 17 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at RCBC Plaza. Shows start promptly at 3:30 pm (matinees Saturdays and Sundays) and 8 pm (evenings Fridays and Saturdays). They close the gate promptly at start time (even when there are still people lining up at the door), so do not be late!

The play runtime is about 1 hour and 15 minutes, with no intermission. You can buy tickets through Ticketworld on this LINK. Ticket prices: P2,500 (Orchestra Center and Loge Center), 2,000 (Orchestra Sides) and 1500 (Balcony).