Shakespeare Plays by the Abba’s Orchad School

CEBU, Philippines - The Abba's Orchard School recently presented two beloved, timeless plays by Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo + Juliet. Produced and directed by Joanna Wu-Po, with scripts by Elizabeth Weinstein, Shakespeare's characters came alive onstage at the Ayala Activity Center on February 1st. Young actors convincingly portrayed their roles, having fully memorized the long Old English lines and delivering them with flawless choreography, costumes, and backdrop scenery.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream (with Lucas Po as narrator), it was a blend of fantasy and reality, fairies and mortals, conflict and happy resolution. The play depicted the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors controlled and manipulated by the fairies in the forest.

Three plots were interconnected by the wedding celebration of Duke Theseus of Athens (Angelo Galo) and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta (Hannah Choa), set simultaneously in the woodland and in the Fairyland, under the light of the moon. The characters of Oberon, King of Fairies (Gabo de Jesus) and Titania (Carmina Suarez) were certainly passionate. Puck (Gahum Pantinople) played the mischievous court jester and Oberon's servant who accidentally gave a love potion to the wrong man. Nick Bottom (Isaiah Po) stood out amongst the six actors, with his wit, charm, confidence, and versatile facial expressions that amused the audience.

The familiar plot of Romeo + Juliet did not disappoint, as usual. Young lovers Romeo (Laurence Lu) and Juliet (Samantha Martinez) epitomized true love and passion, all the way to their tragic ending. Friar Laurence (Isaiah Po) was a superb supporting character, helping the young lovers out of their quandary by providing Juliet with a potent sleeping potion. The sword fights between the Montagues and the Capulets were also noteworthy; the young actors performing the scenes displayed dexterity and skill.

The two plays had the trademark found in most of Shakespeare's plays that we can all relate to, especially in this month of hearts: tragedy, comedy, and romance. The young actors were just prodigious in their performance! (FREEMAN)