UNI-BASED REVIEW: Dulaang UP’s ‘Para Kay Tony’

UNI-BASED REVIEW: Dulaang UP’s ‘Para Kay Tony’

Dulaang UP’s tribute to their late founder Tony Mabesa is a solidly entertaining albeit oddly paired twin bill that tackles oppression in vastly different ways.

 

With his passing in 2019, National Artist for Theater Tony Mabesa left behind a legacy of discipline and precision in practicing the craft, while nurturing curiosity and respect for classical theater among student artists. In tribute to the late director, Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (DUP)—founded by Mabesa in 1976—has produced the twin bill Para Kay Tony: Tungo sa Ginintuang Alaala, consisting of the real-time drama Kalahating Oras sa Isang Kumbento and the Brechtian satire May Katwiran ang Katwiran.

Individually, the plays are a modest but effective demonstration of the IBG-KAL Theatre as a space, and each features at least one potent performance that makes an impression despite the plays’ brevity. Taken together, however, these works don’t really get to converse with one another beyond general themes of authority and oppression. Here, the greater tribute to Mabesa is in the act of producing and performing the texts, rather than in the texts themselves. 

Kalahating Oras sa Isang Kumbento

Translated to Filipino by Lilia F. Antonio, this roughly 25-minute Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero play is set in the office of a Mother Superior, as a student faces expulsion for “acting out.” It’s an exercise in claustrophobia, as the young Yolanda’s (played by Rona Lynne, alternating with Kris Caaya) bursts of emotion are constantly shot down, with Reign Righteous’ circular set and Lan Tee Sy’s lights making the convent feel more like an underground bunker. And among the four characters on stage, Jan Magcaling’s Sister Vitalis (alternating with Paulyn Abando) is most compelling, as she speaks of kindness and mercy but stands by helplessly as Yolanda is sentenced back out to an abusive home life. 

The play gets its message across clearly: that a religion reduced into a set of rules and punishments leaves no safe haven for children and no salvation for adults either. Still, given its uniquely direct form, it can’t help but feel like more could have been done to tighten the vision behind it. A third nun, for example (Janna Talampas, alternating with Gena Suelto), is directed in a more broadly expressive way—ostensibly to provide relief from the play’s tension, but the result is more distracting than anything else. As it stands now, the play adds up to a strong sum of its parts, though the potential is there for it to grow into something greater.

May Katwiran ang Katwiran

In sharp contrast, the second play (written by Rolando Tinio) opens up its borders to more actively include the audience—following a wealthy Senyor (Kerr Allen) as he recruits a lowly Kasama (Dan Duplon) to help him escape criminal punishment. Even with minimal props, director MJ Briones successfully turns this comedic, semi-musical odyssey into an hour-long study of how the ruling class takes advantage of the underprivileged even during moments of shared crisis. Third Salamat’s lighting works wonders in moving the story around, particularly in a sequence in which the two protagonists must cross a lake on a rickety boat, while Neil Shane Alcain’s original songs punctuate the drama nicely without overstaying their welcome. 

There’s an opportunity here to draw the play even more firmly into present-day concerns about impunity and the Philippines’ cycle of political abuse, but it still rings universal even in its current form. Key to the play working as well as it does is Allen’s performance (on top of an already very capable ensemble). His exaggerated responses to everything his character finds disgusting or beneath him are always sharp in their comedic timing—but Senyor’s capacity for petty cruelty and violence is never softened or made to look amusing. The play remains unpredictable, even as it repeatedly rescues Senyor from punishment through this unfortunate curse of luck that so many powerful Filipinos seem to have.

Para Kay Tony

Both plays have common strengths (lighting, lead performances) and weaknesses (less than ideal acoustics), but there’s ultimately more that separates them than unites them as a tribute to Mabesa. Their being paired up makes for a somewhat odd combination. While both plays are in some way concerned with a weaker party struggling against a more authoritative figure, they don’t complement each other so much as they just happen to sit in contrast with one other.

Before the show, an extended video tribute to Mabesa was played in the theater, featuring interviews with dozens of artists who were his students. While not officially part of the production, this ultimately fulfilled the promise of the title Para Kay Tony more clearly than the actual plays. DUP’s performers will no doubt continue to be guided by his legacy, but for those who didn’t have the privilege of meeting him, the intentions of this tribute might be harder to grasp without context.

 

Tickets: P550–P1199
Show Dates: Nov 15–30 2025
Venue: IBG-KAL Theatre, University of the Philippines ­– Diliman, Quezon City
Running Time: approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes (with a 10-minute intermission)
Creatives: Kalahating Oras sa Isang Kumbento: Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero (Playwright), Lilia F. Antonio (Translation), Erika Estacio (Director-Mentor) | May Katwiran ang Katwiran: Rolando Tinio (Playwright), Charles Yee (Director-Mentor) | Julio Garcia (Scenic Designer-Mentor)
Student Creatives: Kalahating Oras sa Isang Kumbento: Lloyd Sarmiento Uy (Direction), Jisu Jang (Assistant Direction), Gerald Caldejon (Dramaturgy), Avi Sulibet (Dramaturgy), Reign Righteous (Set Design), Sea Araya-Banania (Sound Design), Lan Tee Sy (Lighting Design, Costume Design), Ayessa Ejercito (Technical Direction) | May Katwiran ang Katwiran: MJ Briones (Direction), Kryzl Desuyo (Assistant Direction, Costume Design), Czar Bedoya (Dramaturgy), Ethan King (Dramaturgy), Neil Shane Alcain (Music), Rio Fermo (Sound Design), Third Salamat (Lighting Design), Aaron Misayah (Set Design), Laur Miranda (Props), Dyan Macam (Technical Direction)
Cast: Sheryll Ceasico
Student Cast: Kalahating Oras sa Isang Kumbento: Kris Caaya, Rona Lynne, Jan Magcaling, Paulyn Abando, Janna Talampas, Gena Suelto | May Katwiran ang Katwiran: Kerr Allen, Dan Duplon, Francheska Andaya, Akin Cullarin, Julianne Quimio, Pat Ebro, Camille Fabian
Company: Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas