by College of Arts and Social Sciences
The Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG), resident company of the MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), with the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA), presents Suhi (Breech Birth).
Opening on August 8 at the MSU-IIT Mini Theater, ‘Suhi’ has extended its original 12-run series to 27 shows until August 15 to accommodate overwhelming responses from local audiences. Three shows are scheduled daily: 10:30 a.m., 3:00 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.
The play adapts the classic story of ‘Oedipus Tyrannus’ and transposes this to a Mindanao setting where feudal wars and political intrigues occur.
While the setting may be local, the universal theme about the tragic hero and his reversals of fortune is given an urgent and contemporary sense. “Suhi” jolts its audiences to the disharmonies of our times by exploring dance, non-textual expressions, music and visuals.
The classic plot is reworked, weaving through the undulations of political conflicts, personal intrigues and the ever-present lust for power hugging victims caught in these webs of deceit and death,” explains Palanca award-winning playwright Steven Fernandez, who wrote and directed the play and its music.
“Performing meaning through movements, dance, music, chants and visuals, the play grew from a playwriting class exercise. The metaphor of breeched birth is the central image of the play, an image with multiple connotations enhanced by the sets suggesting a woman’s birthing organs and a dark canal of misfortunes and unforeseen circumstances,” Fernandez added.
Suhi drew raves in its world premiere at the 7th UNESCO-ITI Asia Pacific Bureau Festival in Shanghai, China, which ran from May 10 to 17, and where IPAG is the Philippine representative. –contributed news for OC-OPI