‘Anino sa Likod ng Buwan’: Love & Sex As Weapons Of War
A looming sculptural assemblage of gnarled tree trunks with spiraling branches hovers above, casting shadows on the interiors of a makeshift hut where purple and blue rays of light create a dreamlike tableau. Outside, a blood-red sky foreshadows an eclipse, not quite a good omen. Enter Emma (Elora Españo) revealing her naked body made for sin and a sure sign of trouble ahead. Suddenly, there is no chiaroscuro here, it’s bright as day, raw flesh that is a recurring theme and a weapon in the gripping political and psychological drama, Anino sa Likod ng Buwan, the debut stage production of IdeaFirst Live! written by Jun Robles Lana and directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio. Originally written in 1993 when it won the grand prize of the Bulwagang Gantimpala playwriting competition, it was adapted and directed by Lana for the big screen in 2015 and later did the international film circuit where it garnered awards.
Gunshots in the background set the play in Marag Valley, between Apayao and Cagayan, in 1993 when the war between the Philippine military and the leftist New People’s Army was raging. It seems to be just another day, as Emma wraps herself with a towel after her bath and nonchalantly enters the hut where her husband, Nardo (Ross Pesigan) and the soldier, Joel (Martin Del Rosario) are playing a game of cards. The couple are refugees who were forcefully uprooted from their home and relocated by the military in the course of skirmishes. Joel has become a friend who brings them food and other supplies that he steals from the military pantry. There is an awkward congeniality among the three—it’s a mysterious ménage à trois with many secrets that are soon revealed through psychological warfare and power dynamics among the three, who are the only characters onstage from start to finish as the play takes unexpected twists and turns in its quick-paced, one hour and 40-minute run sans intermission.
Getting to the heart of the mystery keeps you engaged in the verbal jousting which Lana has crafted in a tight script and Rutaquio has skillfully directed to cultivate the synergy among the actors and move the story forward at a brisk pace.
Españo and Pesigan, regular stage actors who have recently worked together in Pumpon ng mga Gunita, a play on Jose Rizal in Germany, may have had an advantage, although the television and film actor Del Rosario, who makes his stage debut, was able to hold his own. He actually had the longest lines which at one instance may have sounded like he was in an elocution contest but he more than made up for it with the intensity of emotion called for.
It helps that he has an angelic handsomeness that makes him credible as both a magnanimous friend and a lovesick paramour when it is revealed (SPOILERS FOLLOW) that he and Emma are having an ongoing torrid affair in the second scene enacted with a series of explicit erotic scenes that gives this production an adult 18+ rating. Although some found these too graphic, they are there to drive home the point that circumstances during wartime push us to do certain things, as Emma proclaims, “Pinupukaw mo ang hayop sa kaibuturan ko.”
When Nardo returns and Joel leaves, another revelation is made: Emma and Nardo are not even a couple and just comrades in the communist movement. Sex, for her, was a means to an end since she needed to gain Joel’s trust to be able to gather intel when they have trysts near the military camp where her father is imprisoned. But was she really using sex merely as a weapon? Nardo airs his doubts as he reveals his love for Emma and his jealousy over Joel, shocking her and complicating the situation further.
He questions the morality of Emma for allowing her body to be used, but she rationalizes that, with all the violence happening in the war, her act is harmless and of no consequence. This brings to light the fact that a culture of violence, corruption and immorality has trickled down to individuals in our country as expediency becomes the norm and we become inured or desensitized. It’s for this reason that the play stays relevant today, letting us revisit an obscure yet important part of our history and find ways to reflect, learn and heal before moving on. As Rutaquio said in a post, “It helps us as a nation to rebuild and repair ourselves as Filipinos.”
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Anino sa Likod ng Buwan is showing until March 23 at the PETA Theater Center. Tickets at Ticket2Me.
