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Rep showcases UK-based Pinoys in 'Betrayal'

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Leah C. Salterio

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/Betrayal.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">London-based British-Filipino actors James Cooney, James Bradwell and Vanessa White star in Repertory Philippines&#x27; production of Harold Pinter&#x27;s &#x27;Betrayal.&#x27; Handout </div><div></div>MANILA -- When Repertory Philippines raises the curtains for its 87th season with the Philippine premiere of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal,” a new cast and director will be introduced to the audience.Three UK-based British-Filipino theater actors have been flown in to Manila to banner Pinter’s three-hander, interestingly inspired by the playwright’s own seven-year marital affair.At the helm of “Betrayal” is critically acclaimed actor and theater director, New York- and London-based Victor Lirio, who will direct for the first time for Rep.London-based British-Filipino actors James Cooney, James Bradwell and Vanessa White, who were personally chosen by Lirio for “Betrayal,” were flown in to Manila to headline the play. When Lirio was offered by president Mindy Perez-Rubio to direct for Rep’s 87th season, he was asked for any classical or contemporary work that he wanted to propose.“I said I’d love to do ‘Betrayal.’ I’ve been to London a lot the last five years and I’ve seen the works of the actors we selected for ‘Betrayal.&#x27; I worked with them for the Bridge project and I’ve seen their works,&quot; Lirio said.“The name of Vanessa White, I never previously encountered, so I Googled and learned she is a pop star. I asked, ‘Will she come to the theater and auditioned?’ She did a terrific work.”“I was very, very happy to form these three brilliant actors. The next task was to bridge them with local Filipino actors. I read about Regina De Vera and I was blown away. I know she trained at Julliard. Jef Flores, I knew from 2006. I’ve seen him in a couple of plays here in Manila, as well. He did a wonderful job. I supposed when stars are aligned, good things happen.”Apparently, casting didn’t become a challenge for Lirio. “This is two-year theoretical project for us. When ‘Betrayal’ happened for Repertory, the desire of these artists to come to Manila, was never a question. It was their first time to work here, although not their first time coming here,” he said.Bradwell was in Manila the first time when he was only four. “As soon as the possibility of ‘Betrayal’ became apparent two years ago, I was determined to come here,&quot; he said. “Not just for the work, but the exchange of ideas. I started to learn from the different phase of culture. See and experience that. I was always, always on board.”“Betrayal” catalyzed this latest visit of Cooney to the Philippines and he cannot be thankful enough. “I was fortunate enough to fly to Manila earlier to visit my lola and family in Bacoor, Cavite before our job began,” Cooney said. “That has been serendipitous for me. It has been a huge privilege to be here in Manila again after 10 years.”White admitted she has been able a “good amount of time” in Manila since she arrived. “I met many amazing people,” she said. “I worked with them and they are all Filipinos. Yeah, it didn’t take that much convincing.”Although all three actors were born in England, Cooney and White’s families are based in Davao, while Bradwell’s is from Naga City.The “brilliance” of Harold Pinter is that “Betrayal” is his only play that goes back in time. The timeline is nine years, which highlight his life experiences.“Our job as a company is to justify that,” Lirio explained. “This play has been revived for many, many times. And we’re telling this story as Filipino-British. My idea is that in the draft, I want it from the perspective of the woman, Emma.“Since it has always been from the male perspective, I want the revisitation of the sins of the past. We’re having fun doing what happens in between. I wanted it from the mid-40s woman’s perspective, why she conjures up to the sins of the past.“The beauty of the work of Pinter is to explore it. The question is what is the richer, deeper way to tell the story. I think that’s what’s exciting about crafting this work.”“Betrayal” is part of Rep’s Bridge Project, a collaboration among global professional theater practitioners of Filipino descent from New York, London and Manila. Launched by Lirio in June 2020 in London, Bridge Project is now in partnership with Rep Manila.The global undertaking serves as a skills exchange platform that will offer free knowledge sharing sessions that will touch on theater topics like Shakespeare text rhetoric, text and scene study, script analysis for visual designers, voice and theater experience, as well as a speaker series forum and some staged readings. Classes will be held at Mint College, McKinley Hill and Ortigas campus. “When we started the Bridge Project in the pandemic, there was this desire for us to work together,” Lirio recalled. “The people who were watching us online were very, very niche, just from the questions they were asking and sentiments they expressed.“I was meeting brilliant people in London and New York. I was meeting Menchu [Lauchengco-Yulo] and other wonderful people in Manila. I thought there was an opportunity for us to create a congress and share our learnings. We crafted what we thought will be useful and share our learnings.”“I sense a real commitment and passion from Rep for a global collaboration among Filipino artists,” added Lirio. “I’m grateful to Rep president and CEO Mindy Perez-Rubio for supporting the Bridge Project’s ethos and for having the London-based Filipino actors and me.“We’re all very excited to collaborate with fellow theater artists in Manila in presenting one of Pinter’s most extraordinary plays.”

When Repertory Philippines raises the curtains for its 87th season with the Philippine premiere of Harold Pinter’s 'Betrayal,' a new cast and director will be introduced to the audience.

When Repertory Philippines raises the curtains for its 87th season with the Philippine premiere of Harold Pinter’s 'Betrayal,' a new cast and director will be introduced to the audience.