FIFTY SHADES OF RED: The Many Colors of Love, Sacrifices, Unfiltered Debates on Sex Politics from ‘Overnight sa Babaeng May Dilaw na Pamaypay’

There’s variety in everyone’s perception of the color red and its many shades. Red can sometimes be seen as a symbol of love, power, and passion, but it can also be a reflection of danger, evil, and rage. Within the many faces of the mysterious color, the stage play “Overnight sa Babaeng May Dilaw na Pamaypay” has helped bring its many forms of red and all of its shades — from the filthiest all the way to its purest.

“Overnight sa Babaeng May Dilaw na Pamaypay” stands as one of the four stage plays presented at the recent production of the Student Artisté Society entitled “Actor’s Playground: Hourglass.” The theatrical production opened its doors to audiences from June 4 to 8 at the Student Union Building - Performing Arts Group (SUB - PAG) Studio.

All four plays, along with the play in review, are written and directed by the organization’s artistic director, Sir Urie Clamor. This theater production is a tribute and a celebration of the arts of the past, as this event features restages of all plays from different important times of the organization, including the unfiltered black comedy about two couples and the secrets waiting to uncover the red ribbons wrapped beneath their other halves.

‘Red! Red! RED!’: From Rooms of Lustful Hunger

Dark crimson lights covered the stage as the show started, with the set showing a typical motel room setting. The story firstly introduced the gay couple Arnie (Donald Febra) and Khel (Earvin Sanchez), a plan plotted by the former who wanted to celebrate their first month anniversary with a “bang!”

“KJ, ayaw magpa-BJ!” said Arnie after a few attempts to get Khel in bed with him.

On the contrary, the younger lover Khel subtly shows discomfort and uneasiness with Arnie’s mischievous scheme to have sex for the first time. Both Febra and Sanchez showed an accurate depiction of a queer romantic pair with a noticeable age gap, with Febra hitting perfect comedy timing with the support of Sanchez’s performance.

The story then cuts to another couple, Job (John Allen Gabun) and Sam (Jean Cueno), both working professionals who took temporary shelter in a motel room after Job’s arrival from Palawan. Job also took advantage of the setting by gently inviting Sam towards sexual activities, wherein Sam continuously tries to shrug off as similar as Khel’s aversion. 

“We’re already here. Don’t you want to try it?” Job mischievously utters as he starts to scheme his way towards Sam.

Gabun and Cueno also kept up from the performance of the actors in the previous scene, and have also displayed subtleties whilst playing their characters, ensuring promise of performance with quality when only two actors are on the stage.

The third scene then shows all four characters continuing their current situation in their respective hotel rooms, with the unique illusion of them interacting in the same space together. Though moments have allowed the characters to overlap to depict an abstract form of storytelling, it somehow did not cause any confusion from the audience. Moments in question included the sexually-frustrated Job and Arnie reenacting their wild fantasies through demonstrating their desired sex positions to try with their own partners.

“Malamig? Eh ‘di magpainit,” Arnie and Job suggest as they start to describe their wild fantasies.

As the story begins to arrive at the conflict that begins to tackle the repulsion of both Khel and Sam towards sex, a tense argument scene played out brilliantly by the actors that exuded the environment filled with rage and anger. Both characters then drop a hard-hitting revelation that their celibacy is driven by them being infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 

Uncovering Red Ribbons

“POS ako!” exclaims Khel after a heated argument with Arnie about his continuous refusal to have sex with him.

What started off as a spicy story then transitioned into a moving confrontation that explained the origins of Sam and Khel’s disease, accompanied with a soulful piano instrumental of “You’ll Be Safe Here” by Rivermaya. The story has also introduced the audience towards HIV-influenced societal issues; One of which depicts women like Sam to also carry a disease stereotypically known to be a gay-related infection.

“Akala ko wala nang stigma,” told Sam, after sharing her own experience carrying the disease, with her own family disowning her.

It also depicted the issue of HIV-positive individuals who have been recklessly transmitting the disease from anybody, which was the case of how Khel got infected. Sam also opened the undying stigma towards HIV even today in the progressive age, while Khel painfully describes the horror of carrying the virus every day for the rest of his life.

“Ayokong mamatay mag-isa,” Khel painfully pleads as he breaks down sharing the horror of him living with HIV.

Despite their sorrowful confessions, both Arnie and Job tried to hear their sides and decided to still embrace them for who they are. A breath of fresh air surrounds the HIV-stricken characters as their respective partners ensure them safety, comfort, and company to fight their sickness. The play proceeds with the both pairs hugging, ending the story with both Job and Khel asking their partners for their hand in marriage.

Spotlight on a Red Carpet: Avenue to Awareness

It is rare in a Philippine setting to discuss and tackle the controversial debates surrounding HIV awareness even until now, with the red taboos and stigmas linked to the disease; Yet, “Overnight sa Babaeng May Dilaw na Pamaypay” served true depictions and representations towards individuals affected by this infection - from the horrified victims to their closest support systems.

It is quite remarkable to show such material towards a demographic of mostly college students who are prone to  the disease, with AIDS Epidemic Model (AEM) - Spectrum reporting that ages 15-24 are the leading age sector in terms of freshly-documented HIV infections; in the Philippines, with 47%. 

The Student Artisté Society historically is known for showing various plays tackling different social issues like HIV awareness, nationalism, environmental awareness, politics, and perspectives of those rarely shown in the limelight. The dance theatre organization deserves its flowers from displaying accurate relationship dynamics and hard-hitting lines throughout the play, with a sweet balance of vulgar comedy to a moving drama.

Additionally, the play utilizes great use of an unconventional method of storytelling through the characters interacting without breaking any illusion of the couples situated in their respective rooms. Also, the use of raw, unfiltered terms to describe sex discussions and HIV is something worthy of praise, as both topics deserve to be tackled without any sugarcoating to fully address the social issues mentioned.

4 Red Stars: A Relatable Motel Worth Revisiting

In a five-star rating, “Overnight sa Babaeng May Dilaw na Pamaypay” deserves a remarkable score of four stars. The play had solid material to catch the viewers’ attention with their comedic scenes, while leaving you touched as it transitions into the heavier half of the story. The story also holds some accuracy with evident knowledge towards the HIV situation in the Philippines.

But then, despite the many good qualities of the play, it also holds some room for improvement in terms of performances by the actors through the subtleties of their emotions and their delivery of red-hot lines. Still, it shouldn’t shy away from the fact that all actors held their own weight from bringing the audience to a mix of laughter and tears.

Overall, the entire experience of checking in a motel full of revelations and truths shows that we need more entertainment materials filled with tackling topics that shouldn’t be hidden through red curtains. With an accommodation of  unique storytelling and an enjoyable acting performance and service, it is an experience worth revisiting that makes you want to check in again and again.