Troy Burning: Portrait of an Artist as Filipino

Got to watch Nick Joaquin's "Portrait of an Artist as Filipino" last Sunday, August 26, 2007 at the SM City Manila. Directed by Mel Magno for Se7enth Stage and starring Dimples Romana, Paw Diaz, AJ Dee and Francis Cruz III.


Mel's an old family friend. We've worked with him in theater many times. We'll probably work with him again this second semester. We've worked with Francis too many times over.

"Portrait of an Artist as Filipino" is a long play, it will probably run 3:45 to 4 hours if done without cuts. That's what makes it so hard to stage (heck, Titanic was only 3:14).

What I love about this work by Nick Joaquin is the use of the "fourth wall". In other plays the audience "is" the fourth wall, they are outside looking in through a one-way mirror. Here that is also true but the wall takes on the form of a painting of Aeneas carrying his aged father from the smoking ruins of Troy. Now, it is up to you to view the play through the eyes of Aeneas or his aging father.

War-time Manila is probably Troy, or Lorenzo Marasigan, whose leap from the balcony was probably Helen's abduction. Nevertheless, both are about to burn. Helen in the form of Candida and Paola, the Marasigan sisters? Paris complete with seduction as Tony Javier (The judgment of Paris with him being beaten up)? Are the rampaging Greeks the Japanese Imperial forces? Or are they Manolo and Pepang Marasigan? The painting as the Apple of Discord ("for the fairest")? Bitoy Camacho as Ulysses ("son of pain")? Or is everyone just trying to be Aeneas and carry the aging elder Marasigan out of Troy?

Nick Joaquin was a genius.

Just my interpretation. Much like how I believe that "Godot is God, and everyone else is waiting for salvation," in one of my previous posts. 

Crossposted: http://gokitomo.com, http://gorilla.multiply.com and http://gorilla.vox.com.