Repertory opens 2009 Season with 'A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino'
Repertory Philippines’ 2009 Season begins with Nick Joaquin’s “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” slated from Jan. 16 to Feb. 8 at Onstage Greenbelt One Theatre, Ayala Malls, Makati City.
Set in pre-war Manila, it tells of two spinster sisters who stay on in their ancestral home with their ageing artist father in spite of conflicts that arise among family members to abandon the old house. The complexities of human frailties are brought to light as characters interact with one another in a tightly woven interplay of emotions.
The production brings together a confluence of momentous actors to flesh out this dearly loved work that was first staged in early 1955 by the Barangay Theatre Guild (BTG) in the open-air theatre among the ruins of Intramuros. It was Daisy Avellana who first read the play in 1952 in the Weekly Women’s Magazine and forthwith got Joaquin’s permission to present it first on radio. BTG later adapted it for the stage and it ran for an unprecedented two years.
Joaquin’s remembrance of the old Manila, resplendent in his prose, was made more luminous by BTG’s actors — Armando Goyena, Koko Trinidad, Nick Agudo, Alfred X. Burgos, Sarah Joaquin, and of course, Daisy Avellana — whose electric portrayal of Candida is unforgettable.
Repertory’s rendition of “Portrait…” is directed by Mari Avellana, Daisy’s son.
Featured performers are Irma Adlawan, Ana Abad Santos, Liesl Batucan, Joel Trinidad, Randy Villarama, Jeremy Domingo, Jay Glorioso, Dido de la Paz, Jenny Jamora, Astarte Abraham, Baby Barredo, Chinggoy Alonso, Lorna Lopez, Oliver Usison, Bonggoy Manahan, Celso Ylagan, Ernie Zarate, Jejie Esguerra, Dingdong.
For inquiries, call Rep at 887-0710 or Ticketworld at 891-9999.
