Last week I watched two one-act plays that startled me, not because of their apparent differences, but rather for their accidental similarities. The first, Oggie Arcenas's Isang Mukha ng Pandaraya, is inspired by the cheating controversy that rocked the UP School of Economics early last year. His interpretation of the scandal uses a she-said/she-said setup--to prevent a clear-cut presentation of the facts, one strongly suspects--that exposes the less-than-noble qualities of all (well, almost; one may argue that the complainant's attorney is an exception) those involved in the case. The second, Layeta P. Bucoy's Doc Resurrecion: Gagamutin ang Bayan, features an increasingly discomforting clash of wills between two adult cousins, both sharing the same surname and the same ambition to run for their town's mayorship and nothing else. Like most of Bucoy's plays, it does not end well.
Two things about the plays gave me pause. One, both protagonists have serious flaws. Isang Mukha has a hotheaded complainant who possesses an unwholesome reputation on campus, which the memorable last scene decidedly confirms. As for the title character in Bucoy's play, his appalling but understandable sense of shame about his impoverished roots threatens to undermine his well-intentioned plans for his hometown. Their less-than-sterling character threaten to bring them down. Both dare the audience to dislike them. True, many other, greater plays have featured such characters, but one could not help but remain compelled by them.
The other? In my mind, what struck me most about Isang Mukha and Doc Resurrecion was that it highlighted the role politics--academic, familial and everything in between--play in poisoning (surprise, surprise) institutions and societies, even families. Bucoy's play especially demonstrates this, with cousin turning against cousin, with disturbing consequences. Even more disturbing, we often see this poison working in real life, right in our faces, right out in the open. But you know what's most disturbing? Most of us have become indifferent--numb--to it. Sad thing is, we're aware of it.
The protagonists may be tragic. But then again, so are we.
Two things about the plays gave me pause. One, both protagonists have serious flaws. Isang Mukha has a hotheaded complainant who possesses an unwholesome reputation on campus, which the memorable last scene decidedly confirms. As for the title character in Bucoy's play, his appalling but understandable sense of shame about his impoverished roots threatens to undermine his well-intentioned plans for his hometown. Their less-than-sterling character threaten to bring them down. Both dare the audience to dislike them. True, many other, greater plays have featured such characters, but one could not help but remain compelled by them.
The other? In my mind, what struck me most about Isang Mukha and Doc Resurrecion was that it highlighted the role politics--academic, familial and everything in between--play in poisoning (surprise, surprise) institutions and societies, even families. Bucoy's play especially demonstrates this, with cousin turning against cousin, with disturbing consequences. Even more disturbing, we often see this poison working in real life, right in our faces, right out in the open. But you know what's most disturbing? Most of us have become indifferent--numb--to it. Sad thing is, we're aware of it.
The protagonists may be tragic. But then again, so are we.
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