Revisiting Rama

It was a landmark production, launched in Hanoi, Vietnam during the 1998 ASEAN Leaders’ Summit, a project that epitomized and embodied the ideals and aspirations of the peoples of ASEAN.

Delegates to the currently ongoing (until May 29) World Congress of the UNESCO International Theater Institute (ITI) as well as Manila audiences will get a rare chance to see this acclaimed production once again when "Realizing Rama" returns to the stage of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Main Theater on Wednesday, May 24 at 7 pm.

The contemporary dance drama is based on the Ramayana, an epic that is common to all the member-countries of ASEAN. But each country has its own traditions and interpretations of the epic tale of courage and leadership and love, and all these stylistic and interpretative distinctions find their place in "Realizing Rama".

Thai classical dance infuses the movements of Sita, while the Indonesian wayang or shadow puppetry is used heavily to convey Rama’s internal struggles. The outstanding tradition of the Golden Deer of Myanmar and the Laotian portrayal of Hanuman the Monkey General find full expression within the production.

Noted Indonesian composer Rahayu Supanggah’s memorable score includes musical elements from the different countries, including chants, rhythms, instruments and sounds that come together as distinctively Asian but decidedly modern and international.

Artistic director Denisa Reyes of the Philippines has succeeded in crafting a truly ASEAN production with a truly ASEAN cast: artists from the ten member-nations of ASEAN–Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam–surmounted language and cultural differences, learning from and teaching each other in a truly international exchange.

Aside from the performance on Wednesday, the cast will hold a lecture-demonstration at 10 am on Thursday, with artists from each country demonstrating their traditional dances, and then showing how these styles and movements were successfully used in the contemporary idiom of "Realizing Rama".

"Realizing Rama" has been acclaimed not only in the ASEAN countries, but in the capitals of Europe where the production toured in 2001. It also drew critical and popular acclaim in performances in Korea, India and China in 2002 and Japan in 2003.

The story of "Realizing Rama" is a very Asian allegory dealing with the statesman’s (Rama) journey towards true leadership. The production is a flagship project of the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information, and is being shown as a centerpiece of the Theater Olympics of Nations of the UNESCO-ITI, which gathers theater groups from all over the world.

For tickets to Realizing Rama, please call 832-3704. For information on the lecture-demonstration, call Josie Guillen at 832-3657.