A modern folk tale

I am loving the theater group Entablado's musicals of seeming children's stories. Last year, it was Rene O. Villanueva's "Ang Unang Baboy sa Langit" (The First Pig in Heaven) with its environmental message; this year, it is Christine Bellen's "Si Pilandok at ang Bayan ng Bulawan" (Pilandok and the Country of Bulawan), a folkloric retelling of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. Bulawan is a country named after its sun whose population is divided into two factions that can't get along with each other. The corrupt leader and his evil henchmen steal the Bulawan so they can start selling its light and heat to the people and make lots of money.




Pilandok is the resident trickster with a good heart who decides to steal it back. He asks help from the nation's five gods (Faith, Strength, Wealth, Beauty and Wisdom) but their very natures work against them in their rescue efforts. So Pilandok tries it on his own but he is caught, and it is only when the two factions decide to work together—with their gods—that they manage to rescue both Pilandok and the Bulawan.




I'm sorry that I don't have a picture of Pilandok but his character was moving around so much I couldn't get a clear shot. We watched the play at the Rizal Mini Theater of the Ateneo de Manila University but it is also going to be shown at the Meralco Theater on September 11. More information about it on Oliver Oliveros' blog.