‘Villa,’ ‘Desaparesidos’ Staged Readings Explore Dictatorship, Martial Law This September
BANTAYOG: Alaala at Gunita, a two-title staged reading cycle by Scene Change and co-presented by Areté, is set to run this September at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater in Circuit Makati.
The two works explore dictatorship, political disappearance, and public memory through stories set against the histories of Chile and the Philippines. Each staged reading will have two performances over consecutive weekends.
Running on September 19 and 20 at 7:30 PM is Villa, written by Chilean playwright Guillermo Calderón and translated and directed by Giancarlo Abrahan, who recently won Best Director and Best Film in the Full-Length Feature category at Cinemalaya. The cast features Martha Comia, Meann Espinosa, and Ness Roque.
Villa follows three Chilean women, all named Alejandra, who sit around a table and debate how Villa Grimaldi should be memorialized. The real-life site was used as a detention and torture center where political prisoners were held, tortured, and killed during Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship.
Desaparesidos will follow on September 26 and 27 at 7:30 PM. Adapted by Guelan Varela-Luarca from Lualhati Bautista’s 2007 novel of the same name, the reading will be directed by Varela-Luarca and co-director Kat Batara.
The play was first fully staged by Ateneo ENTABLADO in 2016, followed by a reworked staging at the Doreen Black Box, Areté in 2018.
The cast includes Sheenly Gener, Marco Viaña, Jojit Lorenzo, Jam Binay, Ge Villamil, Gio Gahol, Yshma Aquino, Toni Go-Yadao, and Maliana Beran.
Desaparesidos follows Anna and Roy, two activists who survive the atrocities of Martial Law and struggle to build a normal family life after the 1986 Revolution. As they search for Anna’s daughter from a previous marriage, they must also contend with their estranged daughter and confront the guilt of those they lost and betrayed during their years in the NPA. The play explores political disappearance and the lasting effects of Martial Law on those who lived through it and the generations that follow.
Together, Villa and Desaparesidos draw parallels between the histories of Chile and the Philippines under Pinochet and Marcos, respectively, while examining disappearance and denial, public memory and public forgetting.
The performance schedule is as follows:
September 19, 7:30 PM – Villa
September 20, 7:30 PM – Villa
September 26, 7:30 PM – Desaparesidos
September 27, 7:30 PM – Desaparesidos
Tickets are priced at ₱850, which are available for purchase via the group’s Google Form.
BANTAYOG: Alaala at Gunita is produced by Scene Change (Sc.), the theater company behind productions including 3 Upuan, Dagitab, and Ang Linangan.
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