With the British Embassy Manila, the British Council, and the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines all taking a role in the Great British Festival that happened at BGC’s Bonifacio High Street over the weekend, we had a wonderful two-day showcase of Culture, Dance, Theater, Business, plus United Kingdom Job and Educational Opportunities. For the denizens who chose BGC’s High Street for their weekend outing last week, the Festival became that lucky coincidence, a pop-up that had so much diversity and promise.
I had shown up early for the Ballet and Theater presentation of Sunday afternoon, and happened upon an interesting talk about Education opportunities in the UK. Having spent five years in England for my 6th form and university, appreciating how much things have changed, and how more welcoming the higher institutions of learning now are for foreign enrollees, was very encouraging to hear.
Lisa Macuja-Elizalde had brought her Ballet Manila to perform excerpts of the classic ballet "Romeo & Juliet." And to kick off their performance was the Ball scene where Romeo first meets Juliet, and both are smitten. In order to make the art form more accessible, Lisa set up the scene, mentioning how later in the evening they’d be doing the famous Balcony scene; and she made the effort to have the audience appreciate how the music would be updated versions that still incorporated the Prokofiev score, but now made use of electronic instrumentation.
Much Dulce, Head of Arts, British Council Philippines.
Bite-sized Shakespeare was the second highlight of the afternoon. The plan was to alternate bits of Dance with bits of Theater. Borrowing freely from a wide selection of the plays of Shakespeare, the idea was to entice and bring the audience in with familiarity, then demonstrate just how rich is the language of the Bard and, how, when performed properly, the structural iambic pentameter of the verse is in fact conversational, and very accessible. Too often, the fact that it’s in verse is more than enough to make some apprehensive and close-minded about how they can appreciate Shakespeare.
Shakespeare at the BGC.
The irony being that when it was performed in London’s Elizabethan times at the Globe, Shakespeare had to ensure his plays were popular forms of entertainment, that audiences from a diverse range of socio-economic levels would enjoy their time in the theater. If there was no entertained, adoring public—will would not have been commissioned to write new plays.
Murder, illicit love, broad comedy, despots and slaves, heroes and damsels in distress, cunning villains - these all had to traipse on the stage, capturing the audience’s imagination. Directed by Carlos Cariño, the company was composed primarily of Issa Litton, Micaela Pineda, Jeremy Domingo, and Randy Villarama, with a number of younger thespians on hand to provide able support.
Much Ado About Nothing, the tragedies Hamlet and Macbeth, Midsummer’s Night Dream, Henry V, the omnipresent Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, and Taming of the Shrew; these were the plays that were freely sourced to arrive at this "Best Of" extravaganza. As I’d watched their rehearsals, my attention was tuned more to the audience, and was pleased to see so many smiling and laughing faces.
Ballet Manila, and their Romeo and Juliet.
Whether as a shot of nostalgia or as a medium via which people will now seek out and appreciate the full works, this melange of Dance and Theater, was a bubbly eye-opener, and kudos to the British Embassy, Council, and Chamber for putting together these two days of engaging performance artistry. Special mention goes out to Mich Dulce, Head of Arts at the Council. While the British source material or influences were evident in the selection, it was especially nice to see such impressive Filipino talent on display.
I also hope that this Great British Festival will now be a regular event, and that they return in force next year.