Timely, provocative, relevant

Streaming from April 17 to April 30, Tanghalang Pilipino’s “Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin ang Bayad” is an explosive, strongly acted, one-act play that is of special relevance to us as we’re in the middle of our national elections. Directed by Dennis Marasigan, “Doc Resureccion” is a stark, incisive look at local small town politics, and how things operate here in our country. Initially staged in 2009 during the Virgin Labfest, it's interesting to note that this award-winning Layeta Bucoy play stands the test of time—other than a few lines revised to take into account the automated elections of today.

It features a five-man cast led by Marco Viaña in the title character, and Jonathan Tadioan as “Boy Pogi” Resureccion, Doc’s cousin and childhood playmate. As the idealistic medical doctor who raised himself from the slums, and now wants to run against the corrupt incumbent mayor, Viaña offers a character with subtle layers, which when slowly peeled away reveal a character who has created his own facade of decency, integrity, and well, entitlement. It’s a complex portrayal and Viaña is more than up to the task.

Tadioan plays “Boy Pogi” as the typical man of the earth, full of lewd jokes and bursting with innuendos, a seemingly simple kind of person who’s been pushed to also run as mayor to sow confusion, and take away or disqualify votes that will simply say Resureccion. He’s portrayed at first as someone who’s easily led with the lure of petty cash, little gifts, and token words of flattery—basically at the beck and call of the incumbent mayor. Tadioan is excellent in giving us this happy-go-lucky patina and we’re then shocked when depths and more twisted aspirations surface.

The other characters in the play, situated in the one-location seaside shanty where “Boy Pogi” resides, are his father, his wife, and his mother. And it’s never lost on us that these are relatives of Doc—his uncle and aunt, and in the case of the wife, someone the two both fancied in their youth. What could and should have been, a story about family banding together, becomes a grotesque, ugly tale of how politics and collusion can be so rotten and squalid.

I’m not going into details of the plot development. The play runs for under an hour but it’s packed with bawdy humor, confrontations and pungent asides, and there’s a hard-edged approach to providing us with local color and socio-realistic commentary. Given the timeliness of how we’re in the middle of an election, it will be apparent that there’s design and specific intent in reviving this play at this point in time.

Themes that remain as true today, as they were back in 2009 when the play was written by Bucoy, are fake news, misinformation and misrepresentation, and how the ugly face of politics and violence are never more than a microsecond away. You’ll also love how they take on historical revisionism in a micro manner. Revisionism doesn’t always have to be how victors rewrite the history books, it can also be personal history, as motivated by shame, dissembling, or trying to “belong.” This play has a lot to say on the subject.

I had the chance to watch a technical dress rehearsal in order to write this review and it was magical to once again be watching live theater. In order to reach a wider audience and be available nationwide, Tanghalang Pilipino will be taping a show as live performance and that’s what will be streamed starting April 17.

Filled with hard nuggets of truth we can only ignore at our own peril, this is absorbing, provocative theater—and I loved it. Do yourself the favor of watching it.