Eugene Domingo and Sherry Lara is the Powerhouse Tandem for Dark Play 'night Mother

Eugene Domingo aka Uge described herself as someone who is generally cheerful and has never experienced depression. However, that didn't stop her from taking on the role of Jessie, a woman who has her mind set on suicide. Playing her mother Thelma is theater veteran Sherry Lara.

The play is 'night, Mother, penned by Marsha Norman, who also tackled suicide in her Broadway musical The Red Shoes. An interesting trivia is that both are made 10 years apart, the former in 1983 and the latter in 1993. 

The plot:

A supposedly normal evening in the mother-daughter household is shattered when Jessie announces to her mother Thelma that she plans to kill herself before the night is over. The play happens in real time. Over the course of 90 minutes, Thelma desperately works to convince her daughter that life is worth living.

Soxie Topacio was originally tapped to direct the play but Melvin Lee took over after his passing.  "Let it be about conversations that we’ve had or should have had with our loved ones [because] through conversations come clarity, and we need clarity in our feelings and thoughts to steer us away from darkness,” said Lee. 

The adaptation by Ian Lomongo contains bits of dark humor not because Uge is known more as comedian, but because he wants to stay faithful to the original material but at the same time make sure the audience members are attentive. The play runes for 90 minutes without any intermission because it the mother and daughter conversation happens in real time. vUge even joked that she will greet the audience as Dora from Kimmy Dora after every show.

Her previous stage performance, as well as her last play with PETA, was Bona, where she also played a mentally disturbed individual. 

On the other hand, Lara's notable recent works were for her roles in Care Divas (2017), Palasyo ni Valentin (2015), and Maliw (2009/2012). One of her biggest roles was as Paulina Salas Escobar in Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman in the nineties.

Peta’s ‘night, Mother runs at Peta Theater Center at 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City from Feb. 2-March 3. Call 09276035913 or 8919999, visit www.ticketworld.com. ph.