Theater is having a moment in the Philippines. After grinding to a halt during the pandemic, what’s been called “revenge theater” that emerged after lockdowns has now, hopefully, cultivated a regular and hungry live theater audience among Filipinos.
Evidence? Most shows are sold out and tickets are hard to come by. Homegrown musicals like Mula sa Buwan, Bar Boys, and One More Chance have all spawned reruns. Even dramatic plays — i.e. not musicals — like Grace have staged encores due to insistent demand. All performances of a production of Shakespeare’s Othello in Makati City are sold out.
There’s some risk, but Filipino theater veterans Clint Ramos and Bobby Garcia, who’ve been nominated for Tonys for their work on Here Lies Love on Broadway, think the time is right, and the audience ripe, for a play such as German playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz’s Radio Program from 1973, adapted to the Filipino milieu as Request sa Radyo.
Why is it risky? Because it is a wordless play. There’s no dialogue. Not even a monologue. One-person plays are rare, and this is one of those. But not only does Request sa Radyo have the leanest of casts — this play is completely silent, except for a radio broadcast.
Will the Filipino audience appreciate a non-verbal presentation?
That two of the country’s most internationally acclaimed and renowned actors are starring in Request sa Radyo definitely counters that risk for the producers. Dolly de Leon and Lea Salonga alternate in playing a solitary OFW going through her evening routine.
In this episode, De Leon tells Rappler senior producer JC Gotinga what to expect from Request sa Radyo, and why this play is important: It tackles loneliness, which the World Health Organization warns would be the next pandemic.
Watch the episode when it premieres on Friday, October 4, at 8 pm. – Rappler.com
Request sa Radyo runs from October 10 to 20, 2024, at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater at Ayala Malls Circuit in Makati City. Check show schedules and tickets here.
