May 30, 2026
Playwright: Dustin Celestino
Director: Ron Capinding
A narrator calling himself Lalaki (Yan Yuzon) talked to the audience about the enigma of father-son relationships and its implications. Security guard Gardo (Dennis Marasigan), his son Ed (John Sanchez) talk about the episodes of violence they got involved in. Businessman Nick (Carlos Siguion-Reyna) and his son Kulas (Rafa Siguion-Reyna) talk to their therapist about their favorite NBA basketball team and its controversial trades.
Celestino wrote this play about broken manhood with eloquent yet very powerful lines, infused with a heady dose of testosterone. It was perfection how director Capinding staged this with so much dramatic vitality despite being composed of lengthy monologues. Each actor gave the best performances I had seen them give on a stage. In particular, Yuzon bared the playwright's very soul with such raw vulnerability as he dug deep within himself to reflect upon his own father.
Playwright: Faith Ferrer Lacanlale
Director: Sheenly Gener
Brenda (Jam Binay) lived with her elder sister Brianna (Jorrybell) and younger brother Bryan (Sean Innocencio) in the city. One day, her explosive temper got Brenda injured in a vehicular accident. Since then, she began to feel paranoid as she saw and smelled certain men in their neighborhood turning into literal pigs. When she got home, Brenda got even more alarmed when she saw Bryan also growing pig ears and a curly tail.
This play had the misfortune of playing right after the elegant "Elehiya," which was certainly a tough act to follow. In stark contrast, this play went for all-out visual slapstick comedy -- complete with cute piggy ears, tail and snout -- admittedly cute the way Innocencio "transformed" into one. However, we recognize that this extreme physical comedy was a technique to visually represent the girls' psychological torture that was not funny at all.
Playwright: Ron Evangelista
Director: JP Habac
Robert (Joshua Cabiladas) was in a relationship with Rose (Glaiza de Castro), a beautiful model whom he met at a tech convention four months ago. One night, he invited his close friends -- Andrew (Aldo Vencilao), Stacy (Yesh Burce) and Borgs (Ybes Bagadiong) -- over for dinner so they can finally meet Rose for the first time. After the initial pleasantries, Robert surprised his friends with a major revelatory announcement about his Rose.
The script even mentioned the film that likely inspired it -- "Her" (Spike Jonze, 2013), so the twist was not exactly difficult to figure out. With the rapidly escalating ubiquity of technology nowadays, the scenario presented by this play is not anymore so far-fetched. Movie star De Castro's Rose was a riveting vision in scarlet. Cabiladas' Robert was delightfully giddy about his perfect girlfriend, yet very protective when her value was being questioned.
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