On Hercules’ Pre-History

Early Saturday morning and I was frantic from the moment I got out of bed. It was thirty-six minutes past seven and I had so much to do. I needed to be in school before 10am and I had my rehearsals at 3pm in my mind. My things weren’t fixed yet, I haven’t taken a bath, I haven’t had my devotions and I was running out of time. I wasn’t able to take a bath right away though, for my father was washing the dogs. I prepared my bag instead. Time was still against me though, I was ready by 9am and travel usually took an hour and a half. That morning, it did take that long for me to get to school. The AS lobby clock read 10:37 and I was late.
I went to U.P. Diliman’s Ma Wilfrido Guerrero theatre that morning to watch a play entitled “Amphitryon.” I’ll be honest...when I heard of the play’s title, I initially thought Greek. It did sound Greek-y and it was. The stage wasn’t exactly the typical Grecian setting but all the elements of a Greek play was there (it’s not technically Greek of course, but Greece was definitely the setting, or at least the inspiration...I don’t have all the details so I’m not exactly certain). There were the gods playing a part, the woman element, and the male hero. The adaptation though was far from Greek, it was a hundred percent Pinoy theatre. Of course, the original script was already translated and elements were added as the writer saw fit. All in all, the play seemed to sell to the Filipino audience... It was cool.
When I came to the theatre, Amphitryon was already saying goodbye to his wife. I was able to start that scene. I could tell because he just ushered his wife to the bed. I know that I missed some parts but I was able to catch up. That is the beauty of some plays (and movies)—you are able to catch up anyway. Though I think I must clarify that beginnings are important to me. I always feel that I’ve missed a lot. Other characters were soon introduced: Soshas and Charice. They were this couple, servants to Amphitryon and his wife, respectively. The plot soon moved on to Amphitryon winning the battle he was sent to. When he came back to his palace though, the mystery of another Amphitryon and Soshas shattered the happily married couple’s life. In the later part of the play, it is explained that Jove posted himself as an Amphityron. Ha, Zeus. He always comes down in order to satisfy his desires of various women.
It’s funny, you could tell who the real Amphitryon was even when the characters were all in a blur. Knowing a character, and understanding his persona from the start (I believe that this skill is developed through exposure to literature) gave someone the advantage to tell who’s who, what’s what, and which is which even before the author/writer reveals these things. It defeats the element of mystery most of the times though. Well, that’s for differentiating writers who can take hold of his audience’ attention ‘til the end from those who can’t. Then yes, Jove finally gave up his love to return Amphityron’s wife to his arms. He gave them Hercules as a gift. That was quite unfair though, mostly on Amphitryon’s part since Zeus was still father to the boy. Hercules was a god, not exactly a man-gift. I hated how Alchime didn’t recognize his own husband. From the start ‘til the end, she was at a total lost! What a pity. Well anyway, so much for that.
I liked how the writer incorporated comedy into the play. It’s not exactly funny though how the play made use of foul language and physical abuse as elements. I mean, it could have been humour without the explicitness (forgive the term...). They were able to make use of music, familiar lines, code-switching, and choreography anyway. They were good laughs too. Plus, Soshas and Charice were good characters. All in all, the play was a good comedy, both in technical and modern terms. Although I must admit that I didn’t exactly get the message of the play. Or at least, in my opinion, it would have been better if Alchime made her way out on her own, not like how everything was done for her. She was too much of a weak character to be Amphitryon’s wife. That turned out to be useful though in displaying Amphitryon’s good qualities. So I guess it’s all a good mix. There was the husband Amphitryon, the traditional woman Alchime, the comics from both sides (and interconnected, which means they could be classified as one element-slash-ingredient) Soshas and Charice, the hard Soshas impersonator (a contrast to Soshas’ comic), and the god Jove. It’s a perfect blend. I might not have enjoyed it to the point of standing-ovation but I’ll say that it was a good play.