UNI-BASED REVIEW: MINTeatro’s ‘I AND YOU’

UNI-BASED REVIEW: MINTeatro’s ‘I AND YOU’

This ‘little’ play accurately captures Gen Z’s zeitgeist, with an earth-shattering finale that makes for memorable theater.

Sarah Facuri’s sophomore directorial foray is a memorable cultural marker of a two-hander written by Lauren Gunderson (writer of The Half-Life of Marie Curie and Silent Sky). The accuracy with which ‘I And You’ captures the world view of today’s youth is astounding, with a whopper of a twist at the last ten minutes that had this shocked reviewer cursing under her breath.  

‘I And You’ takes it title from Walt Whitman’s singular use of pronouns in his immortal ‘Leaves of Grass,’ the topic of an English project that brings together two high school students, Caroline (featuring Danielle Roque in her first lead role) and Anthony (compellingly portrayed by a very charming Ysh Bautista). 

It’s worth noting that Whitman’s use of “grass” in the title is a play on the publishing term for works of ‘little’ value. As both the book and this play show, being little and being powerful sometimes go hand in hand.

Begun in ripen’d youth

It’s a breath of fresh air to watch 4th year college students Roque and Bautista, with their piercing rawness and vulnerability.

Bautista’s innate likeability makes him the perfect Anthony: that high school kid whom everyone likes, king of both the basketball court and the honors class. Bautista’s constancy is his strength, and while he needs more practice when delving into the more painful dramatic moments of the play, his fine enunciation of the text and wholesomeness make the audience root for him from his very first line. He was the more polished anchor of the duo, a steady solid presence that withstood Roque’s extreme instability, which her role demanded.  

Gunderson’s ear for dialogue shines brilliantly, as she accurately captures (voiced by Roque’s Caroline) the snarky, disillusioned sarcasm of this generation brought up on social media meanness. Roque was able to fully embody the most insufferable, navel-gazing stereotype of today’s Gen Z / Alpha student. She’s mean and nasty when Anthony comes rushing in her room, declaring “I and this mystery, here we stand,” but as more of her backstory is revealed, we come to understand why she is this way. And what we initially thought to be a minor teenage adjustment problem unfolds into an exploration of the very essence of life and art, culminating in the discovery of first love and an earth-shattering revelation.

I sing of life, yet mind me well of death

The play has new significance in a post pandemic world, with a wide swathe of the youth struggling with loneliness, using text and messaging as their primary means of communicating with the world. 

In such a time, Gunderson uses Whitman’s verse as a springboard to argue for finding solace in literature and companionship. Whitman, the poet who imagined himself (represented by his book) in the arms of his readers, is perhaps the poster boy of embracing life joyfully, despite being surrounded by the pain and death of the Civil War. 

This deceivingly ‘little’ play has one of the most memorable endings this reviewer has had the pleasure to watch. It comes at the very end of a demanding eighty minutes, with a breadth of emotional range that would challenge even the most hardened theater veteran.

It’s the kind of play that, when the shocking ending comes, makes you realize that it had been staring at you all along, hinted at by clues hidden in the very set and lights (courtesy of Soga Buencamino and G Roi Reyno). And once your eyes have been opened, you wonder why you hadn’t guessed at the secret earlier.  

Sometimes it’s the ‘little’ plays, done with no fanfare, that have potentially the biggest impact. This gorgeously written play, skilfully directed and truthfully performed, is one that reminds audiences to revel in “the minutiae, the detritus of life,” leaving its audience truly enriched for having seen it. 

 

Tickets: P500 (with discounts for PWD, seniors, students, and alumni)
Show Dates: Nov. 15-16, 22-23 (3:00 and 7:00 PM)
Venue: The Playhouse, Meridian International College (MINT), 2F, CIP Building, McKinley Hill, Taguig.
Running Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes (no intermission)
Creatives: Lauren Gunderson (Playwright), and Sarah Facuri (Director)
Student Creatives: G Roi Reyno (Lights and Sound Designer / Stage Manager), Ian Magdale (Costume Designer), Soga Buencamino (Set Designer / Deputy Technical Director), Angelique Almoro (Production Manager), Bianca Torres (Assistant Stage Manager), Clyde Khaledi (Technical Director), Veronica Arquelada (Assistant Production Manager), Ria Santos (Assistant Production Manager), Rose Moredo (Assistant Stage Manager), Amber Sabino (Assistant Stage Manager), Bryce Castro (Assistant Technical Director), Sophie Espiritu (Assistant Technical Director), Ivy Campos (Associate Set Designer), Jaz Elman (Assistant Sound Designer), Nisha Dey (Lighting Assistant), Sanica Godornes (Lighting Assistant), and Dani Roque (Marketing Director)
Student Cast: Danielle Roque (Caroline), and Ysh Bautista (Anthony)
Company: MINTeatro