August 25, 2025
Two years after they last saw each other, Emma (Missy Maramara) and Jerry (Nor Domingo) met up for a talk. Emma told him that her husband Robert (Ron Capinding) confessed to his multiple past extramarital affairs. Emma and Jerry had a romantic affair behind Robert's back for seven years, of which Jerry was very proud they were able to hide very well from both their spouses while it lasted, or at least, that's what he thought.
This was the first of nine scenes about the twisty romantic relationships between married couple, book publisher Robert and his wife Emma, and their supposed good friend, literary agent Jerry, who was himself also married. The scenes were set in their houses, their love nest flat, and various places where the three met in various permutations. Told in reverse, the final scene was about how Jerry and Emma's affair began nine years ago.
It was only last year when I first saw the original English version "Betrayal" staged by Repertory Philippines. This was a fancy production with an immaculate white stage serving as background to the immoral amoral shenanigans of the three characters. To be authentic to the London setting, Robert, Emma and Jerry were played by three actual Fil-British actors with genuine British accents, with a Fil-British director Victor Lirio to boot.
In contrast, this present staging by Stages and Music Artes was as loy-key, bare-bones and stripped down a version of Pinter's play as ever. We know it was still set in London as what the initial graphic projection showed. However, once we hear those lines delivered in crisp Filipino, as translated by Guelan Luarca, it was as if they were just all here in Manila. Just shows how marital infidelity can happen in any city in any country around the world.
There is no doubting the talent of this cast, as Missy Maramara, Nor Domingo and Ron Capinding, plus director Loy Arcenas, are all tried and true veterans of their craft. Luarca's prodigious talent in writing and translating into Filipino has been recognized with various awards. The ingredients of the perfect brew were all there, but unfortunately, I feel that this Filipino adaptation was not as compelling as I was expecting, and I am not sure why.
I felt there was a lack of electricity between Maramara and her two leading men. I thought Maramara was a pitch-perfect embodiment of Emma. However, I also felt that Domingo and Capinding were miscast as the prideful philanderer and cuckolded husband. They both seemed very straight-laced, lacking that roguish rascally energy. It could be that the subtlety of their acting did not reach the row where I was seated. Since what I missed was intangible and unquantifiable, other viewers may appreciate this play differently than I did.
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"Kaliwaan" runs from August 22 to August 31, 2025 at The Mirror Studios, 5th floor, SJG Building, 8463 Kalayaan Ave, Makati. Showtimes at 8pm on Fridays, 5 pm and 8 pm on Saturdays, 3pm and 7pm on Sundays. Ticket prices: Platinum P1250, Gold P1100, Silver P950 and Bronze P800. To buy tickets, click on this LINK.
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