For the older generation of today, the title may have reminded them of the 1976 historically acclaimed drama film, “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?” by late National Artist for film Eddie Romero, but looking closer, the exact wording in the title are not exactly the same, where in the film title is a statement owning to a story of the previous generation and asks a question to the next generation, while the play title is more of an iterative statement perhaps responding to an expectation and expressing concern for the general future. The play, however, draws inspiration using the same main character, Nicolas, from the film, but a different narrative and sequence of storytelling.
The starting scene was an eye-catcher with minimal furniture at the center, allowing audiences to sink in focus to the setting. The bareness of the stage in a white-painted hall, complemented the tone of the play, set in the 1900s, somewhere in the Philippines. It was a period of civil conflict in the area, with foreign soldiers visiting and attending to the scenes. The dialogue was in Filipino language with inserts of English words, delivered by a few sets of actors in characters representative of various social classes, gender, and locality. In two hours, viewers were outstandingly taken to imagine a formal court house, all the way to a casual rural village. The show did well in immersing the audience in a historical setting with philosophical exchanges of dialogue for the general audience. The show, however as its current version, may not be for all audiences in the public yet, as a few scenes portraying aggression as successfully realistically delivered, may also be frightening or a shock to young or distressed audiences looking for inspiration or enlightenment about the nation or their locality through historical drama or plays. Overall, the costumes, lighting, and audio system were all together complementary.
For the fresh viewers, millennials like us, the show is a recreation activity with friends in the metro outside our home-based childhood television-watching hobbies which showed stories of historical figures. The sequence of narrative demonstrating the philosophical perspective of the main character in various conditions, whether on family, friendship, romance, government, or country, was intriguing enough that helped deduce in the middle of the play the statement adopted in its title, Ganito Kami Noon, Paano na Ngayon? The details accumulated in the condition of the main character helped viewers understand his peculiar polarized condition during that era, but thankfully this play had a happy ending.
The play takes the audience with a bird-eye view and inside story of the civil conflict among parties of that era which hope to help the generation today to view civil affairs, whether positive or negative, both in a macro and microscopic lens towards a deeper critical philosophical understanding of social conditions. When one’s condition is not as ideal, how does one respond? “Paano na Ngayon?”, as stated in the second phrase of the title. In this play, there is wisdom in each character for the audience to ponder. It can be your average history class play, a casual entertainment show, or more than that.
Written : Abigail Ko
Photos : AXL Powerhouse
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