Caryl Churchill’s ‘A Number’ Two-Hander to Star JC Santos, Bart Guingona in October
WHYNoT and The Necessary Theatre are set to stage Caryl Churchill’s A Number for a limited nine-performance run this October at WHYNoT, located at Karrivin Studios in Makati.
JC Santos and Bart Guingona reunite onstage after appearing together in the 2023 production of Red, which Guingona directed.
This time, Santos makes his directorial debut while also performing opposite Guingona. Santos takes on the roles of Bernard 1, Bernard 2, and Michael Black, while Guingona plays Salter, their father.
Written in 2002 amid public debate surrounding human cloning, A Number follows a father who secretly had his son cloned and is eventually forced to confront the consequences of his actions. More than two decades later, the play finds new resonance in a cultural moment shaped by artificial intelligence, when identity is no longer simply replicated, but generated, predicted, and controlled.
“We are a country that constantly speaks about family, but we should also ask what happens when our devotion to family becomes a way of excusing harmful behavior,” Santos says in his director’s note. “We inherit so much from our parents, and then unknowingly pass it to our children. Sometimes we don’t even realize that we are reproducing the very things we once promised ourselves we would never become.”
The production also features a collaboration with visual artist Miguel Uy, who was shortlisted for the Ateneo Art Awards’ Fernando Zobel Prize for Visual Art. Uy’s work explores technology, media, and globalization in relation to individuality, identity, and independence.
A Number runs on October 9 at 8 PM; October 10 at 3 PM and 8 PM; October 11 at 3 PM; October 16 at 8 PM; and October 17 and 18 at 3 PM and 8 PM at WHYNoT, 4/F Karrivin Studios, Makati. Each performance is limited to 80 seats, with free seating. Tickets are priced at ₱2,800 and are available via Ticket2Me.
A Number marks the second collaboration between WHYNoT and The Necessary Theatre. The two previously co-produced David Hare’s Via Dolorosa in 2025.
Comments