Even in the best of times, the Bard has always been a challenging sell in the Philippines. Some will find the iambic pentameter too archaic, the verse too flowery or ornate, and won’t get past the charge of Elizabethan times being ‘ancient history.’ Yet, as the defenders of Shakespeare will insist, the emotions, the delicacy of the language, and the meaning behind the verse all hold universal truths that are as relevant today as they were during the times they were staged at the Globe. And if you have an open mind, you’ll find these defenders are correct!

So over at Kashmir Live Poblacion, for four days this month - Sept. 18 & 19, 25 & 26 - Carl Cariño is directing his Everyman’s intimate theatre series in a production called Bite-Sized Shakespeare. As the title suggests, it’s selected scenes and poetry from William’s canon. It’s been carefully chosen to show the range and diversity of the man’s works, from high drama to broad comedy, from sonnets of love and passion to gender identity and confusion, the vicissitudes of love and lust, and on to the depths that jealousy and sexual domination will lead us to. In short, Bite-Sized are pithy snapshots of life that only Shakespeare can enrich and turn into liquid poetry. It’s a sublime evening that must be bottled and kept for posterity.

Bringing in stage veterans in Issa Litton, Rachel Coates, Miguel Vasquez, and Javier Coromina, Cariño mixes them up with the young thespians of Everyman’s GRID ensemble, so they all bounce off each other and conjure up stage magic of a high order. The presentations start at 8 pm, and it’s a sampler of Shakespeare that reminds us of just how great the man was.

A snippet of Macbeth, some Hamlet, excerpts of Romeo & Juliet, dramatic scenes from Othello, a little Taming of the Shrew, bits of Midsummer’s Night Dream, Twelfth Night, and King Lear, plus a smattering of the Bard’s sonnets. It all adds up to an entertaining night and leaves us with so much food for thought.

I loved Lear's gender reversal, so we had Queen Lear divide her kingdom among her children and ask for nothing less than blind loyalty and absolute adulation. And, of course, she goes ballistic when she doesn’t get what she wants for the youngest, her favorite. Now, who can say that situation couldn’t be ripped from what happens in our society today, especially given that we are a matriarchal society - and don’t believe we aren’t? Women are just keeping us in check by declaring it’s patrilineal, then winking at each other and smirking.

One sweet sidebar note is that Issa’s eldest daughter, Bella, is a member of the GRID ensemble and does scenes on stage with her mother for the first time! It’s a touching moment, heightened on the night that Issa’s father watched the two, as Issa likes to tell the story of how her love for Shakespeare partly comes from how her father would read Shakespeare to her late at night when she was a young girl.

You have two more nights of Bite-Sized Shakespeare this Sept. 25 & 26, so give yourself a treat and enrich your life! It’s a community theater that’s intimate, enjoyable, and of high quality.