THEATRE PLAYS

(70’s-80’s)
The 1970s and 1980s were turbulent years for the
industry, bringing both positive and negative changes.
The theaters in this period dealt with more serious
topics following the Martial Law era. In addition, action
and sex films developed further, introducing more
explicit subject matter. These years also brought the
arrival of alternative or independent film in the
Philippines.
1970’s Play Theatres
 THE DANCERS

● Directed by Alberto S,
Florentino
● The play is all about a
family who struggles in
the harshness of poverty.
‘Paraisong Parisukat’
By Orlando Nadres,

is set in a small stockroom of Mirasol

Shoes which holds the owner, long-time
employees who want to stay in the
workplace, and a newcomer who dreams
bigger than being confined in the
workplace, until problems came their way
and challenged their ambitions.
‘Hanggang Dito na Lamang at
Maraming Salamat’ (1974),
Orlando Nadres

this play is regarded as the first

play to openly tackle the gender
issue, earning praise for its realistic
portrayal of the Filipino
homosexual
12. ‘Mga Kuwentong Maranao’ (1974), Sining Kambayoka Ensemble
Along with Rodulfo Galenzoga’s “Maranatha,” this piece, developed
under the direction of Frank Rivera, mines the rich folklore of
Mindanao. “Mga Kuwentong Maranao” utilizes five
languages—Maranao, Cebuano, Pilipino, English and Spanish—and
consists of stories revolving around the adventures and
misadventures of the folk hero Pilandok, using the bayok (a verse
debate from where the group derived its name) in its exploration of
such themes as the relationship between men and women, power and
its use, and corruption. Its staging normally uses various folk dances
and movements, and features the many uses of the malong.
 ‘Bayan-Bayanan’ (1975), Bienvenido Noriega Jr.
Considered as Noriega’s most famous work, this play was premiered
by Teatro Pilipino in 1975 under the direction of Rolando Tinio, and
has since been staged many times by Bulwagang Gantimpala,
Tanghalang Pilipino and by other theater groups, under the direction
of Tony Espejo, Pio de Castro III, and Anton Juan Jr., among others.
Widely regarded as among the best examples of psychological
realism in Philippine dramatic literature, the play is set in the home
of Manang in Geneva, where Filipino expatriates congregate. In the
process, their lives interweave and interrelate as they try to find
home, community and meaning where there is none.
‘Pagsambang Bayan’ (1977), Bonifacio Ilagan
Ilagan’s earlier work “Welga, Welga” could also be in this list, but this play, which was
originally written in English, gained wider popularity and influence after it was staged
by the UP Repertory Company in 1977 under Behn Cervantes’ direction. The play is
structured like a Roman Catholic Mass, with the priest (played by Orestes Ojeda in the
UP Rep premiere) becoming not only an interpreter of the Word or the world, but an
active participant in changing both. Mass participants are representatives of peasants,
workers, students, tribal minorities, urban poor and professionals, interacting with the
priest as they relate their everyday struggles.
Ang Paglalakbay ni Sisa: Isang Noh sa Laguna’ (1977), Amelia
Lapeña Bonifacio
Among the more significant experimentations with theatrical forms
was this play in which the dead Sisa comes back to haunt Padre
Salvi, utilizing the form and conventions of Japanese Noh.
Originally staged by Tony Mabesa along with its companion piece
“Ang Madyik na Sombrero: Isang Kyogen sa Pritil,” which, as the
title suggests, is based on the Japanese comic Kyogen, it was later
adapted into a full-length dance production for Ballet Philippines
by Corazon Iñigo, who had choreographed the original theater
production.
‘Mayo A-Beinte Uno at Iba pang Kabanata’ (1978), Al Santos
This play is based on the life of Lapiang Malaya founder Valentin “Tatang” de los
Santos, dubbed the “Second Messiah,” who led his group on a march to
Malacañang in 1967 that resulted in the massacre of most of its members.
Tatang is sent to a mental hospital where he is later reported to have been killed
in a brawl. An expansion of the author’s earlier play called “Si Tatang atbp mga
Tauhan ng Aming Dula (1975),” this work uses radio announcements, slides and
other markers of time and place, effectively making it one of the earlier and more
successful examples of the documentary style of theater. The play won first
place in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards in 1977. This work, directed by
Joel Lamangan in its initial presentation in UP, had Fernando Josef in the role of
Tatang, and he and the name have been associated with each other ever since.
 ‘Juan Tamban’ (1979), Malou Leviste Jacob
“Macliing Dulag” (1988) and “Anatomiya ng Korupsyon” (1990) were also written by the same
author, but this play antedates both. After its initial production directed by Joel Lamangan,
“Juan Tamban” came to be known as the typical “Peta play,” a well-researched piece based
on real-life events that portrays contemporary social problems with accuracy and insight,
combining realism and nonrealistic styles (particularly the use of a Chorus), the better to
convey to the audience the immediacy of the situations presented and the necessary actions
that need to be taken (read: unity among society’s various sectors against the oppressors).
The play follows the story of a boy named Juan Tamban (played by Toffy Padua) who was
reported in the newspapers as eating cockroaches and lizards to attract attention. A social
worker, Marina (C.B. Garrucho), investigates his case as part of her master’s thesis and, in
the process, comes face to face with the reality of the boy, his family and environment,
society and herself. The play won second place in the 1979 Carlos Palanca Memorial
Awards, with Bonifacio Ilagan’s play on the first phase of the Philippine Revolution, “Langit
Ma’y Magdilim,” beating it for the top spot. Ateneo Entablado revived the play in early 2014.
‘May-i, May-i’ (1979), Eman Lacaba, Al Santos, Malou Leviste Jacob
The play is based on an original concept by Lacaba that, after his death, was rewritten
and completed by Santos and Jacob. Their historical research resulted in a play—set
in the period before the Spanish conquest of what came to be known as
Maynilad/Manila—that fleshed out through rituals, movements and martial arts insights
about our past that threw light on the present. Directed by Lutgardo Labad, the play
touches on the relationship among Raha Sulayman, Lakandula, Panday Pira, Magat
Salamat and May-i, the daughter of Sulayman with Ligaya (daughter of Pira), whom
the newly-arrived Spaniards under De Goiti begin to see as a witch. Upon the defeat of
her people and the loss of her loved ones, May-i takes the name of Maria and leaves
the mountains of Makiling for a place unknown. The original production at the Rajah
Sulayman Theater in Fort Santiago was nothing short of spectacular, with its music,
movement and production design all helping to create the pre-Hispanic world of the
play.
1980’s Play Theatres
Canuplin, 1980
The play is about the rise and
fall of Canuto Francia, a
Tondo man who rose to fame
in the bodabil circuit for his
impressions of Charlie
Chaplin, but ended up broke
after his popularity faded.
MAY KATWIRAN ANG
KATWIRAN
● A play that revolves around the
distress of a wealthy haciendero
who wants to get away from the
crime of killing someone who
wanted to covet him.

● Its all abour the never ending social

heirarchy written in a interesting
way.
Pilipinas Circa 1907, 1982
The play takes viewers back to an
American era Philippines, when
Filipinos were divided betwen those
who were for and against American
rule. It follows the story of 4
star-crossed lovers who find
themselves caught in the drama caused
by heightening political tension. This
play was restaged in 2007, proving how
relevant that chapter in our history still
is.
Diablos, 1989
Based on a libretto by Rody Vera,
Diablos is a song-and-dance
masterpiece about a woman from
Mindanao’s Bagobo tribe who is on
the run from an evil bird who is out to
get the baby she is carrying.
Macli-ing Dulag, 1988
The play illustrates the horrors of Martial Law and
immortalizes Macli-ing Dulag, a farmer and
chieftain of a Cordillera tribe. Dulag was killed by
the Philippine Army for opposing the construction
of the Chico River Dam, a Marcos-proposed and
World Bank-funded project that would have
destroyed the ancestral domain of indigenous
peoples in the area.