By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter
Theater Review
Mga Anak ng Unos
Presented by Dulaang UP
THE LATEST twin-bill production by Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (Dulaang UP), Mga Anak ng Unos, can be best described as a horrific funhouse mirror reflecting the worsening realities of the climate crisis.
The first piece assumes the intriguing lens of folklore, where otherworldly creatures fight against humanity’s self-destructive tendencies. The second presents scenes that are frenetic, fragmented reimaginings of our current and possible future states of distress. Campus theater group Dulaang UP brings both to life with a stark sense of urgency.
GODS AND CREATURESSa Gitna ng Digmaan ng mga Mahiwagang Nilalang Laban sa Sangkatauhan is written by Joshua Lim So, a playwright in the Carlos Palanca Award for Literature Hall of Fame. Under the direction of José Estrella, the war that bathalas (gods) and mythological creatures wage against the sangkatauhan (humanity) unfolds on stage.
Immediately striking is the diversity of languages spoken by the deities, based on the regions from which their folk tales originate. The stage design is clever, with frayed ropes coiled into a gigantic mass on one side representing a mountain being destroyed by miners.
The costumes are also beautiful to look at, the bathalas, diwatas, aswangs, and the likeeach standing out as their own character. It begins with Dadanhayan Ha Sugay (played by Jasper John), a supreme being with 10 heads originating from Bukidnon folklore. Nicknamed Dan by his fellow mythological creatures, he is an intimidating figure who punishes mankind with thunder and torrential rainfall, much to the chagrin of Tausug-based trickster deity Abunnawas (Tristan Bite), who advocates for a tamaraw stuck in the ensuing landslide.
From then on out, the piece keeps adding on its innovative worldbuilding, the various creatures that Filipinos read about converging in an uncanny military alliance in the war on mankind. Based on Edgar Samar’s book Mga Nilalang na Kagila-gilalas, a compendium of mythological creatures drawing from folklore all over the country, the play puts the divine creatures in a tight spot where they are pushed to the brink. The entire exercise successfully leaves the audience with the sobering message that perhaps the destruction has gone too far.
Of course, the downside to having diverse dialogue using various Philippine languages is the audience’s inability to follow the whole thing completely, for lack of subtitles to the languages we don’t know. But the actors fill in this gap very easily, their expressions, tone of voice, and body language providing the context for what they’re probably saying in the moment.
There are humorous scenes as well, such as when one aswang declares that she has gone vegan and refuses to feast on the blood of a human. There are popularity dynamics at play, with the overbearing nuno sa punso reveling in being the most recognizable creature, and the humble anito being almost unknown. When not overwhelming in parts, the play at least manages to be amusing.
From the moment the tamaraw is stuck in the muddy ditch and seemingly doomed, the audience is immersed in an intriguing aspect of Philippine folklore that other tales haven’t really tackled — how humans’ effect on the environment ripples throughout the archipelago in ways unimagined.
HUMAN RESPONSESThe next play, Climate Crazies, is a feverish reckoning of what’s to come. From the local, it expands to the global experience of the climate crisis. The play is directed by Issa Manalo Lopez and Tess Jamias.
Based on Australian playwright David Finnigan’s Scenes from the Climate Era, it transposes the original text into the Filipino perspective of the crisis, tackled with a healthy mix of dread and playfulness. Vignettes take us through a plethora of realistic issues: plastic pollution, rising sea levels, the overconsumption of goods, and deadly super-typhoons.
Here, the audience is compelled to nod or shake their heads out of relatability, often in frustration over segregating or processing the trauma of individual actions being basically useless. Many voices are heard here — brought to life by the four extremely versatile main actors: Delphine Buencamino, Bong Cabrera, Herbie Go, and Ethan King — characters ranging from educated citizens and everyday people to climate scientists and uncaring celebrities. Their ability to take on all these perspectives throughout the barrage of vignettes is mind-blowing, to say the least.
One character says that the term “climate anxiety,” denoting an exaggerated worry over something, must instead be named “climate distress,” because it is unfair to claim that the dire situation is exaggerated at all. Later on, in a scene mimicking a TV program, a scientist bemoans how false hope chains people to the system. This is all grounded in harrowing scenes of the earth’s future, like a mother shielding her child from the deadly heat to a young man scrambling to get his elderly wheelchair-bound grandmother evacuated from the flood.
Tying the second play with the first is a Bagobo mythological character, Mebuyan (played by MJ Briones), a goddess with multiple breasts used to feed infants who have died. Here, adorned in trash bags, she flits in and out of the various vignettes, the only consistent character all throughout, embodying the decay that has befallen the earth. She is depicted as drawing unlucky numbers for humans who will perish from climate crises and feeding on her breasts are both human babies and turtles who have died consuming plastics in the ocean.
Befitting the craziness promised by the title, the play is full of energy, from hilarious slapstick moments to more solemn and thought-provoking speeches. There are earth summits where world leaders struggle to enact policy, and average people eat a never-ending slew of takeout, or order products upon products online. In short, it’s a rollercoaster of emotions, and ultimately a rousing call to action.
Mga Anak ng Unos has shows on Fridays to Sundays until April 13 at the IBG-KAL Theater in UP Diliman, Quezon City. Regular tickets cost P1,000 while persons with disabilities and senior citizens can buy tickets for P800, all available via Ticket2Me. For more details, visit Dulaang UP’s social media pages.