MANILA, Philippines — Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas will be restaging its Filipino puppetry adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince" after a successful premiere last November.
"Prinsipe Bahaghari" follows the titular character in search of a companion who would help him care for his Gumamela. He meets several extraordinary characters on his quest and befriends the Storyteller, with whom he shares his joys and hardships.
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The Rainbow Prince's encounters ultimately make him realize what his relationship with his Gumamela meant to him.
This adaptation of "The Little Prince" celebrates Filipino culture, myths, and language. The puppets used are made from rattan while other local material were used in production.
"The use of the Filipino language and stories are drawn from the experiences of our people to narrate the magic and challenges of growing up, of the many ways of taking care of this world, of faith in different forms of love within and beyond the reach of the physical senses," said playwright Vladimeir Gonzales.
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"Prinsipe Bahaghari" initially ran last November at the Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Teatro Papet Museo as a thesis project by director Aina Ramolete, who is also the production's illustrator and overall production designer.
It was featured at the 14th Annual Meeting and International Conference of the Asian Theatre Working Group held in Quezon City and the "Puppet Power: Celebration!" in Calgary, Canada on its way to being recognized as one of the Best of Filipino Theater in 2023
The production was also among the finalists in the global Red Curtain International’s Good Theatre Festival for Young Audiences in India, winning for Best Production, Best Production Design, a joint Best Direction win for Ramolete, and Gonzales getting an honorable mention for Best Script.
The new run of "Prinsipe Bahaghari" will be at Circuit Makati's Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater on January 19, 20, 26, and 27 at 7:38 p.m., with matinee shows on January 21 and 28 at 3:38 p.m.
As part of the outreach program of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, "Prinsipe Bahaghari" will also go on an outreach run in Palawan on February 23.
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