Teatro Pinas Review : Tanghalang Pilipino staged a timely and relevant piece through “Coriolano”

Tanghalang Pilipino staged a timely and relevant piece through “Coriolano.” The Shakespearean classic narrates the rampant discrimination in the society, it features the gap between the rich and the poor and how it affects someone who is in power. It also sends a strong message about the factors that affects someone’s judgment and reasoning. 

The direction of Carlos Siguion-Reyna was well balanced that allowed the audience to think and reflect on the current state of our society. It doesn’t point-out who have done wrong in the process as everyone is involved to what’s happening around us. In the story it shows that everyone is part of the of the process and the factors that affects our downfall. As a director, Carlos was not bias on sending the message across to his audience but rather made you think after watching the show.

Marco Viaña as Coriolano gave so much justice on his character. He proved himself once more in his performance.

Through his portrayal, he was able to dissect his character thoroughly. He featured almost all human aspects of an individual who is in power. The factors that affects someone’s emotions and someone’s logical reasoning. Despite of being different from his own personality, he was able to highlight the truthfulness of the disgusted of someone powerful towards his people. His arrogance and being rough on stage was very irritating. 

The adaptation was written by Guelan Luarca, he made every lines more bitter and deeper that digs down to your awareness. The lines the doesn’t ask question but it will make you question yourself and think about what was happening. There was a great depth in the artistry of Luarca and Siguion-Reyna. The set design was versatile that it doesn’t require too much changes but the structure was perfect for every scene. The sounds was very detailed that it boost the audience adrenaline as it signals that the fight scenes was about to start. TJ Ramos also knows how to tell and bring the audience to a different place through his sounds that he made. The sound design made feel that I travelled back in time. He perfectly knows how to play with the audience’s imagination, that even weeks after the performance the vibes of his sounds lingers on my mind. 

The costume has a lot of potential and can be very complex when it comes to its design, as it also narrates the period and a place that’s unfamiliar to us. What’s good about the selection of the costumes was, those were all taken from other Tanghalang Pilipino’s shows, with that I admire how resourceful Bonsai Cielo was in picking the appropriate costume for an Italian set. Who would have thought that combat shoes could be used in a different era and of course no one would know that those are combat shoes unless you’ll ask designer herself after the show. The costumes has a great mixture of color and texture.

Review : JC Salud
Photos : Axl Powerhouse Network