Well, those basically were the themes of the plays for Set D in this year's Virgin LabFest. Though the material was heavy, there were funny moments in each of those plays - and the playwrights' ability to weave humor into those subjects is quite amazing.
By the way, one of the playwrights, Reya Laplana is only 16 years old! Incredible! I was more concerned with Madonna and pop music when I was her age. She, on the other hand, wrote a delicate piece about girls who love other girls. You could really see from the wordings alone that a young person wrote it. It was simple, sweet, pure and a bit naive. Because if I had to write about girls who love girls, it would turn out to be a hybrid between a Martin Scorsese and a Quentin Tarantino movie! Middle-aged adults are really jaded that way!
Incidentally, Sa Lilim, the name of Reya's play was directed by Jenny Jamora - who I saw in Cock earlier this year! Small world!! I think her company is coming out with more interesting plays later this year so better to keep tabs with it - Em Malinis!
The playwright of Betang, Joanna Katanyag, is also young! Their imaginations are so active. If you loved your lolas, you will love Betang! I guess it's the playwright's bittersweet ode to one of her lolas.
Bago Ilibing by Maynard Manansala and U2 Eliserio is funny on the surface but it really deals with a disgusting topic. I talked to one of the actresses after the play and she herself was dismayed about the reality of incest here in the Philippines, which made me a bit sad. Now, with more and more families fragmented by OFWs and parents having relationships outside their own marriages, the likelihood of incest increases, especially if there are daughters in the house. Hayyy, where's GABRIELA when you need them!
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