Philippine classic theater revived

IN August 1977, a play that said everything against martial law was performed in UP Diliman. Being already on its fifth year, the dictator Marcos had become cocksure that his military regime would last forever. Now here was this unlikely play, defying its might.

“Even before opening night,” wrote Doreen Fernandez in Palabas: Essays on Philippine Theater History (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1996), “people whispered that the play was ‘matapang,’ and should be seen immediately, because it might be closed down by the military. The first night was palpable with thrill—the thrill of danger, but even more, the thrill of saying almost outright that which had not been said directly for five years.”

Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater was jam-packed, the air electric. Halfway through the performance, applause thundered, and cries of “Truth!,” “Justice!,” and “Freedom!” resounded among a suddenly emboldened audience.

Pagsambang Bayan is acclaimed as the first play during martial law that challenged the military regime in a way that no theater piece had dared to do. Against all odds, it tackled issues that were forbidden to be talked about, such as the killing of freedom and democracy, wanton violations of human rights and loss of human dignity, government corruption, and the insatiable greed of those who are in power.

Today, 32 years after Pagsambang Bayan was first produced by the UP Repertory Company—it was remounted in 1981 and 1984 also by UP Rep. It is again being restaged.

Why Pagsambang Bayan again?

The celebrated American protest singer-songwriter Bob Dylan crooned, and rightly so, that “the times, they are a-changin’.” Indeed, a lot did change in the passage of time. But a lot, too, remain as they had been, such as the killing of freedom and democracy, wanton violations of human rights and loss of human dignity, government corruption, and the insatiable greed of those who are in power.

Other than wanting today’s generation to see a historical play, the Tag-ani Performing Arts Society aims to make Filipinos realize that what is happening in the country today is what has always been the misfortune of us all through the years, in spite of the Edsas and changes in government administrations. A vicious cycle facilitates an oppressive and repressive system to perpetually prey on the citizenry while brazenly offering false hopes for a better tomorrow.

The restaging of Pagsambang Bayan allows for a critical contemplation of the then and now, as well as for a creative sharing and engagement of artists and audience in the burning issues of the day.

More than a mere reshowing of an old play, the restaging of Pagsambang Bayan also aims to dramatize to the present generation how Philippine theater measured up to its social function during one of the darkest periods of our history. Its purpose is to reaffirm Philippine theater’s obligation not only to comment on the human condition but to realize the full human potential of our people.

Unique theater form, bold content

In the book Tuklas-Sining (Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1991), Dr. Nicanor Tiongson observed that Pagsambang Bayan gave a new meaning to the Christian mass, which is the oldest of all traditional dramas in the Philippines.

And mass it is that springs to life in the play that is structured according to the order of worship of the Christian liturgy. But while hewing closely to the traditional mass, the characters in Pagsambang Bayan boldly speak out and raise issues, and thus force the action. The rituals of the mass are played out but lead to many twists, the most daring of which is when the Priest/ Pastor is divested of his gala attire, even his sandals, and handed a working towel and a peasant bolo. It is symbolic of the Christian church’s acceptance of the ultimate social challenge and oneness with the people in their struggle for a just and humane society.

Some more notes

Written by Bonifacio P. Ilagan right after his detention, Pagsambang Bayan won in the 1976 Palihang Aurelio V. Tolentino. It was first directed by Leo Rimando and performed in Hong Kong in English. The original Philippine performances were directed by Behn Cervantes for the UP Repertory Company. Other productions were done outside Metro Manila. Until 1984, it had chalked up more than 100 performances by various theater groups.

Ilagan and Cervantes again team up to lend a classic play a new treatment in the 2009 production by the Tag-ani Performing Arts Society, in cooperation with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts; and with the UP Repertory Company in the UP Diliman version.

The play has been anthologized in various books here and abroad. It is featured in the CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art as a major work in Philippine theater and as an example of an art form made relevant by the crisis of society.

And as the Philippine crisis persists, so does Pagsambang Bayan.