UST alumnus Jun Robles Lana’s stage adaptation of his film, “About Us But Not About Us,” was presented at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theatre in Makati on Jan. 16.
The story traces the mentor-mentee relationship of literature student Lance (Elijah Canlas) and his professor, Eric (Romnick Sarmenta), as they unravel wounds, secrets, and unsettling truths.
Throughout Lance and Eric’s conversation, they untangle themes of mental health and abuse, identity, and corruption, all while discovering lies that surround their shared trauma.
The stage adaptation gives justice to the lingering narratives in the film, providing a more expansive and open space for flashbacks, perspectives, and deeper narratives, and allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the character’s intensity.
“It was inspired by the theatricality because it’s so exposed. I didn’t want it to be as ambiguous as the film,” Lana said.
What seems most distinctive about the stage adaptation, however, is the personification of Marcus (Epy Quizon), Eric’s partner and Lance’s former professor—a character who is echoed only in the conversation of the two characters in the film.
“The only evidence [of Marcus] that we have were pieces from the conversations between Eric and Lance—a lot of that character building were the makings of Epy and Andoy (his alternate),” Rutaquio said.
While the adaptation succeeds in using lights and sounds to bring different angles to life, the balanced portrayal of the three characters falls short, as the emphasis on Marcus’s scenes makes the story feel as if it revolves around him, overshadowing Lance and, most notably, Eric’s narrative.
Nonetheless, Rutaquio’s theatrical vision seamlessly aligns with Lana’s, with the production amplifying the cast’s dynamics and underscoring the interplay of trauma and society, all while navigating the realities of educational changes during the pandemic.
In addition to the stage adaptation, Lana revealed the release of “Teorya ng Mga Tanong,” the book introduced in the play, available on the production’s opening night on Feb. 14.
The stage adaptation of Lana’s “About Us But Not About Us” will run from Feb. 14 to Mar. 8.
