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Biting ‘Hapag-Kainan’ is the best of this year’s Virgin Labfest
Followers of Virgin Labfest (VLF), in times of confusion, must always return to this preamble: it is a festival of “untried, untested, and unstaged one-act plays.”
The 2016 edition of the VLF, despite the phenomenal submission of 197 plays, was a miscellany of plays with varying degrees of thickness of plot. This is part of the annual package of perils and pleasures when one buys a season pass.
There were plays that were opulent visual feasts and seductively staged, but reminded viewers of the characters and ballads of previous tales already told on the very same stage.
Several were amusing and tingling despite the lean story lines. Others were waylaid and simply fell into the trap of being directly didactic.
The following are the top three 2016 VLF plays for this reporter:
1. “Hapag-Kainan” written by Rick Patriarca, directed by Chris Martinez, starring Arnold Reyes, Adriana Agcaoili, Mikoy Morales, and Adrienne Vergara;
2. “Bait” written by Guelan Varela Luarca, directed by Mara Paulina Marasigan, and starring Renante Bustamante and Kalil Almonte; and
3. “Loyalist” written by Kanakan Balintagos, directed by Lawrence Fajardo, and starring Irma Adlawan and Abner Delina Jr.
“Devirginized” at this year’s VLF, Patriarca was overwhelmed by the audience’s resounding reception of “Hapag-Kainan.” It would not be inaccurate to label the reed-thin Patriarca as the “rock star” of the 2016 VLF.
Inspired by an instant noodle television commercial, “Hapag-Kainan” describes itself as “a satirical play that experiments on familial relations and communication, and aims to discuss some of the most important issues that touch the lives of the members of a common Filipino household.”
Under the guidance of VLF veteran Martinez, Patriarca’s script leaps onstage like the cooking of a pot of instant noodles: slow burn until it reaches boiling point, then the performers scorch and sizzle in their acting.
“Hapag-Kainan” can make the audience cry while laughing.
The fabulous and perfectly-timed ensemble acting by Reyes, Agcaoili, Morales, and Vergara was the key to the play's success. The performers kept the stage ablazed with their sarcastic lines and movements.
Martinez and set designer James Reyes, photographer Rodel Valiente, and stage manager John Mark Yap studiously crafted a symmetrical set to effectively contrast the disorganization, disagreements, and differences among the members of this “happy, perfect family.”
Even the still family portrait nailed on the wall of the dining room appeared to take flight in the glory of “Hapag-Kainan.”
“Hapag-Kainan” is an intense invitation to pause and reflect on one's relations with family members, friends, and the larger society. Be ready, the characters in “Hapag-Kainan” may mirror you, your parents, sisters and brother, and other mortals you deal with daily and intimately.
Prepare to laugh and be offended. “Hapag-kainan” is too real not to be true.
The conflict in Luarca’s “Bait” quietly springs from the desecration of a sacred Muslim object and the resulting fatal violence between a Muslim student and his Christian classmate.
Director Marasigan’s decision to cast Bustamante and Almonte was wise.
The brawny Bustamante’s transfiguration from a vengeance-seeking Muslim father to a messenger of understanding and reconciliation provides potent tautness that allows the audience to initially hate the character and eventually empathize with him as the story progresses.
Almonte’s understated depiction of a teacher caught in the vortex of Muslim-Christian strain, mediator, pacifier, and crisis manager was impressive, side by side Bustamante’s solid presence.
“Bait” intelligently explores the tensions of Muslim-Christian relations: fear fuels hatred and hostility, metamorphosing into violence in many forms.
The enemies of Muslims and Christians are not each other. Their common enemy is fear.
“Bait” is an acute appeal to various ethnic groups in the country to consciously seek to understand each other: what spawns misconceptions, misjudgment, hatred, and violence, and how ordinary people trapped in the daily activities of dealing with Christians and Muslims navigate the complex (and stressful) condition of their existence, for example a teacher in a school with Christian and Muslim student population.
Set designer for “Bait” was Ohm David, sound design by Tony Muñoz, and stage manager was Loraine Macatangay.
Balintagos, formerly known as Auraeus Solito, capitalizes on a short conversation he had decades ago with a Marcos loyalist as the foundation of his play “Loyalist” featuring Adlawan (a pro-Marcos mother) and Delina Jr (her anti-Marcos son).
In “Loyalist,” the petite Adlawan is a towering stage presence while Delina Jr. is ferociously funny and witty, showcasing humor and eloquence in confronting his mother’s “love” of Imelda Marcos.
Driving the message of life’s bittersweet contradictions, the script traces the money flow from the Marcoses to the unseen father, who in turn transmits the amount to the mother, who then hands it to their son in the form of a daily allowance. The son also benefits financially from his mother corrupt practice as a “fixer” in a government office.
“Loyalist,” aside from being an overtly political play, can also be viewed as a story of love of and loyalty to loved ones: of parents toward their children, and of children toward their parents, despite their differences, challenges, and issues.
Under Fajardo's direction, Adlawan and Delina Jr. deliver solid, nuanced, and fine acting, reminding the audience that both are seasoned stage performers.
Stage manager for “Loyalist” was Alpauline Grace Peña and musical scoring by Benjamin Marasigan and Peter Legaste. Photography also by Fajardo. — BM, GMA News
The Virgin Labfest runs until July 17 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. For inquiries, contact TicketWorld or the CCP Marketing Department at 832-3706 or 832-3704 or email the CCP Sales and Promotions Division at ccpsalesandpromo@gmail.com.
