A garden of early delights

Monday, December 6, 2010

EVERY year, the Bantawan Sugbu, home of the Cebu Performing Company, stages original stage plays from its resident playwright Crispin Ramos.

It was playtime again for four straight nights from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3. Theatre aficionados trooped to the address on 91 Visitacion St. (an artery off Osmeña Blvd., formerly Jones Ave.) for an hour of intense drama. The story echoes the ups and downs of real life.

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The stage play was a dramatic presentation of Ramos’ The Gardener. It had two acts and served as Bantawan’s offering for the year. The script of the play was written and rewritten a few years ago, and debuted to the public this year. The play starts with a scene that seemingly appears to be a horror story. But as it progresses, the audience realizes it actually treads on the “lost and found theme” and acceptance.

It revolves on a not-so-typical family of four and how each member struggles to cope when they lose the head of the family.

In the opening, the play introduces a horrendously disfigured man who is a gardener.

He barges into a household and declares himself as the master of the house. It brings confusion to the woman whose husband was a Philippine Air Force pilot. He crashed in his fighter jet many years ago and has been presumed dead.

The Gardener slowly tries to reveal his true identity to the family. And more chaos follows. Actor Lester Cawayan plays the character of The Gardener, a gentle and caring man in search of his past life. He suffers from amnesia, stutters as he gropes for words. Local actress Patricia Andrea Patena performs the role of Denia Naga, a socially conscious woman who holds dim hope that her husband is still alive.

Then there’s Chai Fonacier who plays the role of Amy Naga, a daughter who has fond memories of her father. Jon Ybañez plays the role of Ruel Naga, Amy’s brother, who recalls his father as incapable of giving love and attention to a growing son. And there’s another local actor, Allan Inoc. He takes the role as Ted Camacho, a rich man who is attracted to Denia.

The story is interesting, and theater fans sure hope the reading drama will have another run in the future.