Virgin Labfest XIV, Set C and a little Set B

Virgin Labfest is ending soon, so I took the opportunity to finish out the rest of this year's plays (sans the revisited set).

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SET B

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Thanks to last minute shenanigans on my end, I was unable to see Jose Teodosio's Rosas, and because of unforeseen circumstances, Ang Mga Propesyunal was replaced with Set A's Ang Inyong Mga Anak. So I technically only saw one play from Set B, which was:

Edgar Allan Hemingway is about a hugely successful author Levi Llorca (Rafa Siguion Reyna), who is one day visited by an old friend, George (Guelan Luarca). George isn't a very good writer, though he has struggled to write for many years. He comes to Levi to get some pointers, but soon finds out that there's more to Levi's writing that meets the eye. The play tackles some interesting ideas on ownership, ethics, and the meaning of creativity, and to be honest, I find myself siding with Levi at certain points. The performances are overall solid, with Ricci Chan bringing in added dimensions of both comedy and conflict as Levi's partner.

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SET C

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Set C is concerned with the cradle, the grave, and everything in between.

Medical professionals and people who have seen last year's documentary Motherland will find something familiar in Maki dela Rosa's Labor Room, a play about a group of women waiting to deliver their children. Having served in labor rooms during my training as a doctor, I can vouch for the authenticity of the dialogue; it's accurate, snappy, and at times all too real. I have my own experiences that closely reflect the situations seen in this play. And even though the film confronts the audience with numerous social realities, the play ends on a rather hopeful note. 

At first, it seemed that JV Ibesate's Tulad ng Dati, a play about an ex-con returning to his ancestral home, would be relatively straightforward. But then, it takes a wild turn out of left field that left my head spinning, and it ends far too abruptly for me to process this new information. For better or worse, that ending's the kind that tends to stick for a long time.

And finally, Ensayo is about two elderly students, Peds (Bembol Roco) and Tisha (Sherry Lara) who are worried about a kissing scene they have to perform for their acting class. This is by far the cutest play I've seen this year, and I kind of want Roco and Lara to have a movie as an elderly love team. I'd watch that movie for sure. The dialogue in this one is snappy, and it's clear Roco and Lara are having fun with their roles.