I saw on Facebook that today is the last day of Fake, a play by Floy Quintos as part of UP Playwright’s Theatre’s 25th anniversary. I immediately grabbed my mobile phone and reserved two tickets for me and my nephew.
I think “Fake” wanted us to be more discerning (less gullible) than become cynical. It tells the story of Miguel (Gerard Pizarras), a man in his 30s who lives in cynicism. He was not as skeptical as he is now when he was a young boy (Ross Pesigan). But he felt he was deceived by the same person he looked up to, Jose Marco (Joel Lamangan). Jose Marco claims to have discovered the Code of Kalantiao—it is a set of laws written (and enforced) by a Visayan datu before the Philippines was colonized by various countries.
That was his claim to fame until American historian William Henry Scott (Paul Holme) found some loopholes in the story during a visit to Jose Marco’s house. Miguel witnessed the “inquisition” with Concepcion (Ces Quesada), Jose Marco’s wife, weeping in the background.
I was hoping Alya Honasan would play the female lead but Ces Quesada’s performance blew me away.
The play was divided into two acts. The first act was set in the Mountain of Revelations where Miguel had a long discussion with Sister Emily (Shamaine Buencamino), a “visionary.”
I can go on and on with the cast of characters but the real meat of the story (as far as I’m concerned) is not just about the Code of Kalantiao being an epic hoax but how do people separate as well as mix fact and fiction. It happens in the world now where people would rather live in fiction to escape the harsh realities of life and make it a fact.
But “Fake” is also a fusion of fact and fiction. To quote the souvenir program: “Though the National Historical Institute officially declared the Code of Kalantiao a hoax only in 1998.”
Another hoax “Fake” presented is the “discovery” of a tribe called Tasadays but in 1986, Swiss anthropologist and journalist Oswald Iten made an investigation and yielded the secret of another deception.
As I’ve mentioned, Quesada blew me away. From the clarity of the words to the timely drop of tears, I was just speechless. Another actor who really made me love theater more is Holme. It’s theater yes and actors are expected to exaggerate in their acting but Holme’s acting was so natural and believable. (Read: effortless)
