DUP Opens 40th Theatre Season with Modern Romeo and Juliet

After 39 years of staging exceptional plays spanning from the classics to the contemporary, Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas (DUP) celebrates its 40th year via its theme - 20/20 Vision:
Clarity.Originality.Perspective. For its premiere offering, DUP presents #R</3J, a multimedia hallucination on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. 

#R</3J retells the star-crossed lovers’ narrative transforming Verona into a concrete jungle at the heart of Metro Manila – teeming with corruption, revolt, advertisements, sex, social media, and condominium units. The play captures the essence of the most enduring tragedy juxtaposing the young lovers’ romance with our present society’s many forms of commodified love. Can genuine love exist in a world of alterations and foolery? Exploiting our hyper-real contemporary moment – globalization, ultra-violence, internet foolishness, generation gap – the theatrical project seeks to dramatize, through a psychedelic mix of all available art forms, the postmodern tragedy of our generation. Destroy the city, the family, the government – even Shakespeare – but never destroy the will to love.

The production is a collaboration of professionals and up-and-coming artists. Dexter M. Santos (direction) heads the artistic team together with Guelan Varela-Luarca (adaptation). Joining the team are Krina Cayabyab (music composition and design), John Batalla (lights design), Ohm David (set design), Winter David, (video design), and Darwin Desoacido (costume design). This project features the Dulaang UP Ensemble and the works of young choreographers, video designers, installation artists, and dramaturgs.

There are three other major productions for DUP's 40th Theatre Season including King Lear/Haring Lear directed by Tony Mabesa, Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt directed by Jose Estrella, and The Dressing Room: That Which Flows Away Ultimately Becomes Nostalgia directed by Alexander Cortez. The season will be closed by Yugto: Dalawang Maikling Dula which is the UP Playwrights's Theatre's 25th offering, as directed by Banaue Miclat-Janssen.

#R</3J runs from August 26 to September 13, 2015 at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater, 2nd floor, Palma Hall, U.P. Diliman. For tickets, reservation, sponsorships, and show buying inquiries, call Samanta Hannah Clarin or Camille Guevara at 926-1349, 433-7840, 981-8500 local 2449 or email dulaangupmarketing@gmail.com. Like the official Dulaang UP page at facebook.com/DulaangUnibersidadNgPilipinas.