How much of fiction is inspired by reality? How can one perceive lies from truth? How much deception can the mind take? These are questions that beg to be answered as the dark, dystopian play titled The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh – who at some point was described as European millennial drama’s enfant terrible – unravels.
The story revolves around Katurian K. Katurian, a writer from some unnamed totalitarian state who is brought in for questioning by two cops because his gruesome and macabre short stories seem to have inspired a series of child murders. The play, which won the 2004 Olivier Award for Best Play and was nominated for the 2005 Tony awards for the Best Play category, is presented as the first full-run production by Egg Theater Company with a Filipino translation and features Gabs Santos in the lead role. Supporting Santos as Katurian’s brother Michal are Paolo O’Hara and Paul Jake Paule, while the two cops Tupolski and Ariel will be portrayed by Renante Bustamante and Acey Aguilar, respectively.
A dark comedy, The Pillowman boldly exhibits the riveting power of narrative and how storytelling and the invention of fantastical tales is a basic human instinct. As the police questioning progresses, viewers will get to see a psychologically disturbing narrative that makes it difficult to clearly distinguish truth from fiction. One will also begin to ponder how much of a person’s childhood experiences shapes his perspective and character. In Act 2, why the play has been titled as such becomes evident: The Pillowman is a story by Katurian about a man made of pillows who convinces children to kill themselves so they can be spared a horrible future.
Palanca awardee and Egg Theater Company co-founder, George de Jesus III, who translates and directs The Pillowman, remarks, “In examining the dark side of imagination and creativity, the play probes into how stories are created, the motivation that drives a writer to tell a story and the responsibility of a writer on the impact of what he has written. Put that against a totalitarian-state setting and we get a play that are by turns disturbingly funny and emotionally shocking. Given that the play is set in an unnamed totalitarian state, translating it into Filipino affords us not only in making it somehow familiar but it also further fuels the idea of it possibly becoming real.”
Set against the backdrop of a hot campaign period, the staging of the play this month resonates with its exploration of the fine line between the freedom of an individual to tell a story and its impact on the security of society.
De Jesus, who happens to be the co-founder of Egg Theater Company and is likewise the producer, adds that “…beyond being political, The Pillowman will make us take stock on the power of words and how it can affect other people. There’s a line by Katurian that says, ‘It’s not about being or not being dead, it’s about what you leave behind.’ I think it’s something that will resonate to anyone in the creative field and it’s what we want to accomplish with Egg Theater Company, to create Filipino productions that will linger in the minds of our audience.”
The play will run from April 8-10 and 22-24 at 8:00 p.m. at Pineapple Lab, 6071 R. Palma Street, Poblacion, Makati City. The production will also feature original music and animated graphics by Joee Mejias. For tickets and inquiries, visit Egg Theater Company’s Facebook page or contact 0917-844-0520.
