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PETA’s HARING LEAR

Reading Shakespeare is hard. Translating Shakespeare is even harder. Translating Shakespeare into Tagalog and performing it in traditional Tagalog is probably a feat that only a few Filipino can do. I didn’t expect much which was good because I was blown away by the performances. Its the first time that I have experienced a Shakespeare play where all the characters were played by men (which was a tribute to the Bard’s way of presenting his plays during his time). Translated by National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera (who also translated Julius Caesar in our native tongue for a CCP show a few years back), Haring Lear is set in a post apocalyptic future, a future that is as bleak as it was in barbaric or primitive times. One of Shakespeare’s most mature and riveting plays, it mostly talks about legacy. A legacy of an aging king to his family and to his land. What does he leave behind? It’s about somebody in the grips of mortality and facing mortality. ‘Haring Lear’ runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from January 27 until March 4, 2012 at The PETA Theater Center. For tickets, contact 7256244, 4100821-22, 0917-5765400, petatheater@gmail.com, www.petatheater.com. PS: I won’t recommend it YET for gradeschoolers since there are scenes there that Parent’s might frown upon.

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