Fresh off the critical success of their last outing, the
family comedy-drama Tribes, Red
Turnip Theater is ready to take audiences into a different theater experience
with the sci-fi thriller THE NETHER.
Ever since making their debut four years ago, Red Turnip has
already made quite the dent in the local theater scene. By sticking to their
vision of producing contemporary straight plays, this young company has almost
single-handedly paved the way for the straight play to find equal footing in a
landscape formerly dominated by the musical. Younger companies have sprouted
and followed suit and there are now more text-driven plays getting produced
than ever before. Each of the Red Turnip’s eight productions has gone on to top
critics’ lists and garner awards and nominations from both the Aliw and Gawad
Buhay Awards, making this company the go-to for outstanding plays that both
entertain and move.
Their Fourth Season’s grand finale is THE NETHER, a sci-fi
crime drama about the dilemmas of living in a virtual world. Written by
Jennifer Haley and winner of the 2012 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, this
thrilling play explores the ethical questions and moral consequences of living
out one’s hidden desires and fantasies. Set in the not-so-distant future, this haunting
thriller made its West End and Off-Broadway debut back in 2015 and has been
produced across the U.S. and Europe.
THE NETHER makes its Asian premiere via Red Turnip with multi-award
winning actress and director Ana Abad Santos at the helm. A veteran of the
stage and screen, Abad Santos returns to the director’s chair after her
award-winning turn in the film Apocalypse
Child and nominated lead performance in Red Turnip’s Time Stands Still. She won critical acclaim for her direction in the
Red Turnip debut production Closer as
well as her dystopian take on Hamlet
for Repertory Philippines.
ABAD SANTOS: When I first read ‘The Nether’,
it was love at first sight. It is a new material that bravely dives into
the horrors of man, the unspeakable, and still makes sense of it. It’s about
our present journey into the big unknown, that other world we call the Internet.
And to present this advanced concept on a very basic traditional medium, which
is the stage, is so exciting. It explores human desires and boundaries or lack
of. And the discovery that no matter how beautiful or grotesque our desires
are, we are all still searching for that “one”--to LOVE and to be loved.
THE NETHER boasts a powerhouse ensemble led by legendary
actors Bernardo Bernardo (Hele sa
Hiwagang Hapis, El Filibusterismo, Katy!) and Bodjie Pascua (3 Stars and a Sun, The Tempest Reimagined,
Waiting for Godot). Making their Red Turnip debuts, young actresses Alba
Berenguer-Testa (Annie) and Junyka
Santarin (GMA 7’s Pyra) alternate in
one of the play’s pivotal roles. Screen actor TJ Trinidad (Saving Sally) joins the cast after an accomplished theater debut as
Bruce in last year’s The Normal Heart,
which garnered him a Gawad Buhay nomination for Best Featured Actor.
Jenny Jamora (Cock,
The Vagina Monologues, A Little Night Music) returns to the Red Turnip
stage to take on the lead role of Detective Morris, an investigator of The
Nether’s online offerings.
JAMORA: I do most of
my scenes with Bernardo Bernardo and Bodjie Pascua, I’m terrified but
absolutely psyched for the challenge. In ’Cock’, my character was a fighter but
due more to the external circumstances of being in a man’s world. Detective
Morris is also a strong female character but, this time, in a position of
power. I’m excited to take on her internal struggle to maintain that authority
as she discovers hidden parts of herself that may threaten that.
THE
NETHER is a play for our times. It is relevant; it is provocative. In the play,
life is spent more and more in The Nether, a virtual paradise so interactive
that it engages all the senses--a tempting haven to retreat from a bleak world.
But the main conflict begs the question: In a computer-generated space, is there
no room for ethics and morality? THE NETHER isn’t just about Virtual Reality,
but Reality itself.
With a stellar cast and creative team, this Red Turnip
production is sure to electrify with its one-of-a-kind story and give audiences
the complete theatrical experience this groundbreaking new company is known
for.
THE NETHER opens March 10 and runs all weekends until April
9. Tickets at www.ticketworld.com.ph
or www.redturnip.com.ph.
Venue: The Power
Mac Center Spotlight Theater
Circuit, Makati
(Level
2, Circuit Lane, A.P. Reyes Avenue, Makati City)
Directed by: Ana
Abad Santos
Lighting Design /
Technical Direction: John Batalla
Set Design: Ed
Lacson, Jr.
Sound Design: Teresa
Barrozo
Costume Design: Faust
Peneyra
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