Romeo’s death. LUIS ADRIAN BERNARDO
LOVE was in the air from Jan. 28 to Feb. 14 at the University of Makati. One of the world’s love stories, William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” was brought to the stage yet again, this time by the university’s Collective Arts of Students and Thespians (CAST). “So what does a play written in England in the late 1500s got to do with the 21st century Filipino?” wrote director Ronie Protacio in the play’s souvenir program. Luckily, I caught the final show, which fell on Valentine’s Day.
Trust the universality of Shakespeare’s tragedy of young lovers divided by their warring families to connect with anyone. Updated for the Filipino viewer, CAST’s “Romeo @ Juliet v.2.0.15” drew generously
from Filipino pop culture. Writer Wilfred Uriarte’s sharp script fused English, Filipino and gay lingo to produce lovable characters that audiences embraced. The musical scoring was perfect for the production.
Romeo locks eyes with a young woman
named Juliet.
Such talent and creativity were developed through the Student Theater Education Program.
This free modular and ladderized theater training curriculum seeks to mold the youth into artists, leaders and trainers.
The course culminates with the production of a theatrical play.
Asked about future reruns, Uriarte is hopeful. “The props are heavy to move around, but who knows?” he says. For now, the greatest love story of all time has made a lot of noise.
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