Measure for Measure (DUP) 09062014

To make the truth appear where it seems hid, and hide the false seems true.

-Isabella

Saturday found me going to UP Diliman for the first time in a very long time, to watch a play with a very dear friend. Long before theatrical plays were given their much-deserved attention, she has always been a companion when it comes to theater though we very rarely have an in-depth discussion of what we watch. We watched Phantom of the Opera in 2012, The Addams Family the Musical in 2013, and several DUP productions, having been fans of our alma mater's own theater company (mainly because tickets are way cheaper and yet the quality is at par, if not better than those in bigger theaters).

This time, we watched Measure for Measure. She was with a suitor (or boyfriend???). They spared me the details but I do get the feeling that their relationship is bearing fruits and I just can't wait for the BIG news. This would serve as an inspiration for me to also find my partner. (Though those who know me would berate me yet again for my high standards. WHAT STANDARDS???) Anyway, we three initially were to be seated very far apart from each other because when the tickets were bought, there were very few seats left. Before the doors closed though, my friend approached me and told me to transfer near her. Lucky us because her "seatmates" were no shows so we all had a very nice view of the stage. Initially I sat at the farthest right facing the stage.

Measure for Measure is a Shakespearean play. We watched the English version and at the onset I think my nose would bleed because they employed Shakespearean English. Inside me I was like, come on guys, at least make Shakespeare more accessible!!! While I love reading, I don't read plays, preferring to watch performances instead. Even in college I had a hard time joining discussions when it comes to literary theater because of my stubbornness. What can I do? I get bored reading dialogue lines! 

As expected I couldn't understand half of the lines being delivered. Something to do with the pronunciation but I also have my faults because I didn't get myself acquainted with The Bard's plays though they are deemed a MUST for lovers of literature. I did get the story though, a narrative of pretensions, hypocrisy, and moral corruptions.

Set in Vienna, where sex is rampant, the Duke goes away for a while and puts Angelo in his authority's place. A certain Claudio is held in prison and is to be executed for causing his lover Juliet's pregnancy. For this, his sister Isabella pleads to Angelo for mercy but is surprised when the latter, known for his peerless justice and incorruptible character, asks for her body. Isabella chooses her virginity over her brother's life but with the help of the Duke who disguised as a friar, all ends well with his machinations and awesome play behind the scenes. 

I especially love the part when things got heated up and the friar was amongst them and yet they need to have the Duke. When Lucio, Claudio's friend, accuses the friar of the bad words he say about the Duke, the friar who is in truth the Duke, declares to the audience who know what's going on, "I protest I love the Duke as I love MYSELF!" 

What made the play super special for me was the effort and thought put into the props and costumes. I must say that DUP sets have improved a lot! I was utterly impressed with Collection, an early 2013 production. But in Measure, the audience is treated to a wickedly brilliant merging of European fashion and local materials like abaca! Of course it was hard to see at first but as my eyes adjusted, I was totally awed first at the exaggerated headworks where I first glimpsed the familiar abaca and then my eyes ran to the elaborate gowns to find more abaca. A quick online research yielded information that the designer is Gino Gonzales. For the first time I really took the effort to get the name of the costume designer!

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We were supposed to go to Maginhawa afterwards for early dinner but my father asked me to go with him to a wedding reception. My ex-minor crush, son of my father's friend, was getting married finally. He already had a girlfriend when I met him this the status of minor crush. The only reason why I liked him was because he was ever so sweet and caring to his younger sister, the exact opposite of my brothers.

At the reception, I was in the washroom when I suddenly heard Pachelbel's Canon being played I immediately rushed out and ran to the hall but when the moment I entered, the music had just ended. BOO! Turns out they only played but a small part of the piece.

Maginhawa can wait...