A jam-packed schedule, unpredictable weather, and upcoming birthday celebrations team up every time whenever it is Virgin Labfest season making it difficult for me to see the untried, untested, and unstaged one act plays lined up for some years now. For the festival's 15th edition, dubbed as Titibok-tibok, I was able to watch Set D so far and I hope that I'd still be able to see another set or two before VLF 15 wraps up next weekend.
Set D started with Nicolas Pichay's Larong Demonyo directed by Jose Estrella. The play is about General Videla (Leo Rialp), a retired general living at a remote island. who wants to return to the spotlight with the ultimate goal of the Presidency. Aiding him with this comeback is Efren (Johnny Maglinao), a young editor tasked to aid the general with his memoirs. But Efren is not who he seems as he is actually out for revenge for the general's past during the Martial Law years. What ensues is a chess game/power play between the two with deadly stakes.
While the chess pieces are clearly defined as either black or white, these two characters are neither as both are in various shades of gray. With both having fatal flaws but still with a sense of honor, watching the power play between the two gets more uncomfortable as one cannot clearly root for anyone and the upper hand shifts from one to the other. This ambiguity leads to an unclear ending as to who truly ended up victorious.
The second play of the set is Sari Saysay's Wala Nang Bata Dito, directed by Tanya Lopez. As a one woman play, a lot fell on the shoulders of Venise Buenaflor playing Dolor. She delivers a lengthy monologue as a mother doing final preparations before the authorities arrive to arrest her 9 year old daughter who stabbed a soldier.
She recalls events from the past that eventually led to the dire situation that she finds herself in. A mixture of pity and disgust was elicited by her recollections as it was her desire for a quick buck earlier on that got her into such a bind. The initial price that blinded her to the consequences and then the pitiful price her body was worth magnify the tragic turn of events in her life. It was unsettling to see her despair while knowing that she was also to blame for her plight.
Thankfully, the final play of the set, Robin Miguel Obina's Ang Pag-Uulyanin ni Olivia Mendoza brought out the laughs or else it would've been such a dreary and depressing set.
Directed by Phil Noble, this play is about Olivia (Edna Vida), an elderly woman in a retirement home, who is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. The disease makes life difficult for Andres (Nonoy Froilan), the man she loves and one who also lover her back. Olivia's life gets more complicated upon the arrival of her longtime friend, the flamboyant Julia (Celeste Legaspi). This in turn results to the revelation of Olivia's secret which is one of the funniest and most unexpected twists that I've ever encountered.
This exposure of Olivia's secret threatens her relationship with Andres although the other residents of the home, Lika (Erlinda Villalobos) and Cesar (Crispin Pineda), have no issues with it. For me, too much of the play banked on this reveal that the eventual resolution to the conflict that arose between the lovers felt half-baked and therefore unconvincing.
The crowd pleaser for this set definitely goes to Pag-Uulyanin ni Olivia Mendoza but I think that Wala Nang Bata Dito is more striking and disturbing. Since I haven't seen any other set, I cannot say how the plays in Set D hold up against the rest of this year's selections. Let's see if luck will be on my side and allow me to see other sets over the next few days.
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