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An early Shakespearean comedy and a towering work of German literature, three one-act plays by a Palanca Hall of Fame inductee, and a drama about a postwar Filipino artist best known for his unusual depiction of Jesus are set to be staged by the Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (Dulaang UP or DUP) for its 41st season.
During its season’s launch at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater on Aug. 10, Dulaang UP said it will mount Ang Katatawanan ng Kalituhan, Palanca award-winning playwright Guelan Varela-Luarca’s translation of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors; Distrito de Molo, made up of Palanca Hall of Famer Dr. Leoncio P. Deriada’s “Atlas de Molo”, “Tres Hermanas de Molo” and “Venus de Molo” that are translated into Filipino by prize-winning dramatist Allan Palileo; Palanca Hall of Famer Rody Vera’s translation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust; and Angry Christ, Palanca awardee Floy C. Quintos’s exploration of the life and times of Filipino-American abstract expressionist painter Alfonso Ossorio.
Former Dulaang UP Artistic Directors Tony Mabesa, José Estrella and Alexander Cortez direct Distrito de Molo, Faust and Ang Katatawanan ng Kalituhan, respectively; and current Artistic Director Dexter M. Santos will helm Angry Christ. The respected theater organization will stage Deriada and Quintos’s plays with the UP Playwrights’ Theatre (UPPT).
“[Dulaang UP] wants to continue our commitment in doing theater productions that are accessible not only to students in the university, but to the general audience, as well. We deliver theater productions, spanning from the classics to the contemporary, that are made relevant and exciting in today’s times,” Santos said in a statement.
“In DUP, we take pride in creating shows that are not only memorable and exciting, but also shows that disturb, inspire and push our audiences. We like making them think, but we like them to rethink some more,” he added.
“For Dulaang UP 41st and UPPT’s 25th seasons, we dare you to question, because without questions, there could be no revelations,” Santos said, highlighting the season’s chosen theme.
‘Cleverly crafted tale’
Dulaang UP described Ang Katatawanan ng Kalituhan, which opens the season on Aug. 24, as a “cleverly crafted tale of mistaken identities, loves…lost and found, and families gone astray but are ultimately [reunited].”
The comedy focuses on a man named Egeon, who looks for his identical twin sons after they got separated in a shipwreck, and reaches the city of Ephesus, where his search leads to comic confusion and chaos. It will run until Sept. 11.
Opening on Oct. 12 is Deriada’s trilogy of plays, all set in Iloilo City’s Molo district—famous for its soup and its Spanish-era St. Anne Church—and described by Mabesa during the launch as “charming” and “without pretensions.”
Dulaang UP said each of the plays in Distrito de Molo takes place in a different period, and embarks on a journey that brings its audience the history, magic and myths of the district. The trilogy will run until Oct. 30.
Regarding Faust—about a scholar whose frustration with the limits of human knowledge and dissatisfaction with life attract the attention of the devil Mephistopheles, who makes a bet with the title character that he would be able to satisfy him—Dulaang UP said the play will challenge audiences to “examine evil in its utmost form.” It will run from Feb. 15 to March 5, 2017.
As for Angry Christ, the theater organization said the play will invite audiences to witness the turmoil experienced by the enigmatic Ossorio as he completes the striking title mural at St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church in Victorias City, Negros Occidental province, which caused a scandal when it was unveiled in the 1950s. That work is now considered the artist’s masterpiece. Angry Christ will run from April 26 to May 14, 2017.
All four plays will be staged at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater.
Also during the launch, Dulaang UP announced that tickets for Ang Katatawanan ng Kalituhan and its season passes—which entitles holders to watch all of the theater group’s productions for a discounted rate of P1,500—can now be bought. ALVIN I. DACANAY
Tickets and passes are available at the Dulaang UP office on the ground floor of Palma Hall in UP Diliman. For more details, contact Arkel Suaco Mendoza at 0908-8149975 or 0917-9673616, or the Dulaang UP office at (632) 926-1349, 433-7840 or 981-8500 loc. 2449; or send an e-mail to dulaangupmarketing@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/DulaangUnibersidadNgPilipinas.