11/08/2025
IN PHOTOS: “Quomodo Desolata Es? Isang Dalamhati,” a reimagined adaptation of Nick Joaquin’s “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino,” opened last August 8, at Hyundai Hall, Areté. The stage play was translated and reworked by Jerry Respeto and Guelan Varela-Luarca, with the direction of Varela-Luarca.
Set in a decaying Manila household, the story follows sisters Candida (Delphine Buencamino) and Paula (Gab Pangilinan) as they confront the loss of family, art, and identity in a city and nation undergoing transition.
In its reimagination, Director Varela-Luarca, emphasized that the production’s guiding principle was its deep trust in the original text, which was used to “read against itself” and recontextualize in its current staging.
In an interview with The GUIDON, Director Varela-Luarca shared that the emotional core of the production is desolation as a lived reality. “Desolation is one of the basic conditions of being Filipino, living in this city, in this political climate—we are born into desolation. As much as there is a lot to celebrate, there is also a lot to mourn. [...] There’s also something exciting and life-affirming [in] acknowledging just how broken things are.”
The production will run throughout August at Areté's Hyundai Hall, with 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM shows on August 9, 10, 16, and 17, and only evening shows on August 14 and 15.
Photos by Enrico Jocson
