Theater Review : Ateneo Blue Repertory' Real-Life Fairytales

The Ateneo Blue Repertory showcase an original theatrical pay entitled “Real-Life Fairytales” directed by Missy Maramara. The whole play is composed of six different stories that show the grey part in a life of a struggling person. In the last part of the play the whole cast sing the song “Play by Ear” that says “... if happy ending can’t be found, you play it by ear...” which signify “hope” amidst the problem an individual might be facing.
Real-Life Fairytales is composed of the following stories:

Happy Pills is a story about a boy who is struggling against depression and eventually finding a temporary relief by an anti-depressant medication called “Happy Pills,” a very sensitive issue that we often neglect. It is not very hard to relate to this story as we all have been in that situation in our life. The story flow in a very balance manner, it successfully conveys the gist of the story. I enjoyed the conversation of Peter and Wendy, when Peter started to hallucinate and started to talk to his long-lost-already-dead friend.

The Sandman is a story about an 8-year-old girl who is fighting about the nightmare the time she was raped. I think this story is one of the shortest among the six yet the actors successfully conveys to the audience what it feel like to be in the situation of being sexually abused.

Master Cleanse is a story about two young adult struggling about weight. The comical flow of the story makes the issue seems to be lighter. However, if you dug down deep you can see the frustration of the two characters to the point that they will try everything to loose weight.

Terminal is a story about a boy named Lance who has cancer. The experience of living for just about a month changed Lance to the point that it will shake its relationship with its long time girlfriend Gwen. The actors portray the characters effortlessly yet they are not that compelling as a couple.
“Mirrors” is a story about a girl who struggles to accept the identity of his boyfriend. Mirror is not your normal love story but it involves a double persona of Adam that is a scaled-skin girl. My favourite part of this story is when Isabel met the girl Adam it is very magical.

“On Board” is the ending part of the play. Unlike the previous story, our main character here is full of ambitions despite all the negativity in his circle. On Board is a perfect concluding story for the whole play as it teach us to engage to the people around us – making them to be aware of our real struggles, equip them to the right tools, not happy pills, to live a life with a purpose and empower other people that whatever happens you should play it by ear.

In conclusion, the whole play is very heavy yet it was balanced by some comedic stance. It started and ended in a positive possibility. I would like to recommend this to everyone and make sure that you will finish it up until the end.

Shows are at 8PM on September 13-17, 20-24, 27-30 and October 1 while 3PM shows are on September 17, 24 and October 1.

Tickets are priced at P300 each. For ticket inquiries, contact Nicole Garcia at 09065745545; for ticket reservations, go to http\://bluerepertory.org/Tickets

SEE YOU AT THE THEATER !!!!!

Review : Tony Yson
Edited : AXL Guinto
Photos : Ateneo Blue Repertory

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