Vlad Bunoan

A scene from 'Bangaw.' FEU Theater Guild/Facebook

Article (news)

Totel V. De Jesus

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776563816588658952365_1452071176712173_1007294424125499820_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>A scene from &#x27;Bangaw.&#x27; FEU Theater Guild/FacebookFor its 92nd season, the Far Eastern University (FEU) Theater Guild is staging “Bangaw,” a Filipino adaptation of “The Lord of The Flies,” the 1954 controversial debut novel by British writer, Sir William Golding.</div>The book is about British schoolboys who survived a plane crash and are trapped in an island for months, forced to fend for themselves, in the long run revealing the fragility of human nature and the strength of the few to stay doing what’s right, just and good.It’s appropriate that “Bangaw,” directed by FEU Theater Guild’s artistic director Dudz Teraña, co-written by Teraña and fellow Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) senior artist-teachers Gold Villar-Lim, with music by her husband, Vince Lim, is being staged this April, which is being observed as National Literature Month.There’s some irony in how a university-based theater group, which incidentally is one of the oldest in the country, is staging it because the book has been considered among those banned by authorities, censored and challenged by parents in schools in the 1950s to 1960s, along with JD Salinger’s “Catcher In the Rye” and Henry Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer,” among others.Like “Tropic of Cancer,” which was challenged for obscenity, and “Catcher In The Rye,” banned for promoting rebellion among the youth and justifying violence, infamously exemplified by Mark David Chapman’s murder of John Lennon, “The Lord of the Flies” was questioned by authorities not only for excessive violence but also for its misogynistic and racist tone, its mockery of the differently abled.Despite that, there have been movie adaptations, one was in 1963, directed by Peter Brook (“The Beggar’s Opera,” “King Lear”), which was loyal to the book.Another version was released in 1990, directed by Harry Hook (“St. Ives,” “The Last of His Tribe”), which had American military schoolboys instead of British students. And there’s the Roderick Paulate-starrer “Alkitrang Dugo” in 1975, the Filipino adaptation directed by Lupita Aquino-Concio (“Minsa’y May Isang Gamu-Gamo”).  We remember seeing this while still in grade school and later on, we dealt with nightmares and anxiety attacks. It was, for lack of a better term, a traumatic experience, despite the parental guidance clause.  In Teraña’s interpretation, a play with music not a musical as mentioned by earlier reviews, the story is set in the near present time at an isolated island in the Visayas. The characters are a diverse group of high-school students from rich and privileged families. They sound like they’re studying in Ateneo, La Salle or an international school, which in hindsight, looks questionable because given the resources and influence of their wealthy and powerful parents, they could be found within or less than a week.  Then again, the story is the same. They learn to organize themselves, hunt for food, enjoy frolicking in the beaches and take care of each other, while waiting to be rescued.In Golding’s story, there are three main characters. There’s Ralph, the charismatic leader of the group, and Piggy, the weight-challenged and asthmatic character who became his side kick, alter ego and best friend, and there’s Jack, the antagonist, bully and savage who makes everyone’s lives miserable just by being himself.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776563876472658927337_1452071213378836_1618067937715432701_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>A scene from &#x27;Bangaw.&#x27; FEU Theater Guild/Facebook</div>For “Bangaw,” the actors are all college students under FEU’s Institute of the Arts.The leader is Filipino-American Rafael “Raf” Diaz, played convincingly without alternate by the good-looking Sam Siasoyco. There’s Jack Ramirez the contravida, played in alternate by the taller and bigger student-actors Aldin Covarrubias and Dave Bambang.For Piggy, Teraña and Villar-Lim created a gay male character named Tabeks, played in alternate by Jharelle Villalobos and Edrud Madalan. Tabeks, like Piggy, is weight-challenged, has poor eyesight and spontaneously funny. He is portrayed as someone in love with Raf, ready to protect him from all harm, up to the point of giving his own life.For us, we see some resemblance of Tabeks with Teraña’s famous character in PETA’s “Care Divas,” well, at least in mannerisms and comedic timing, though Tabeks is not a bimbo. <div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/life/12/12/20/behind-the-theater-how-dudz-teraa-got-the-role-of-thalia-in-petas-care-divas">Behind the theater: How Dudz Teraña got the role of Thalia in PETA&#x27;s &#x27;Care Divas&#x27;</a> </div>We won’t divulge much about the story for those who are coming in fresh.In the end, the moral of the lost students’ journey reflects human nature in general. As Filipinos mired in the uncertainties of the times, we are those students finding the will and reason to survive.As Teraña wrote in his director’s note: “In the middle of the sea under the heat of the sun, we find ourselves looking into a mirror. It’s easy to say we are civilized until the hunger kicks in — until the ‘conch’ of our laws starts to crack.“In this adaptation, the island is not a vacation, it is a question. We look at our country today — the noise, the divide, the desperation — and we ask: Ano ang ititira natin sa ating pagkatao kapag wala nang nakatingin?“Power is a seductive thing. It starts with a whistle and ends with a spear. We see it in the way we choose leaders and the way we create monsters out of the people we don’t understand. Ang halimaw ay hindi nakatago sa dilim; nasa loob natin siya, naghihintay lang ng pagkakataon.“The play is a reminder that order is fragile, and kindness is a choice we must make every single day. In the end, we are the ones who will save or destroy each other.” (end of quote)<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776563921555658138636_1452071226712168_3130857327435543119_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>A scene from &#x27;Bangaw.&#x27; FEU Theater Guild/Facebook</div>The production design is highly commendable, all done by students; Margarita Barrameda for costume; Kane Stephanie Hombre and Valerie Tolete for stage and set; Beatrize Villareal for props; and staff member Marc Ducut.There’s the use of real sand, which adds a realistic feel for the audience of being trapped in an island. The stage is surrounded by what looks like thin, dried bamboo sticks, evoking a prison-like trap.However, we noticed there are corner exits where some scenes take place, which may be distracting for some audience members whose views are blocked. They just hear the actors’ dialogues.All in all, the play succeeds in adapting Golding’s story to modern Filipino setting, despite some minor flaws, like, again, the social class and status of the characters. Perhaps, making them less privileged, them coming from something remote like Binagbag or Bagabag National High School, and their plane fares or trip probably sponsored by some publicity-hungry senator or congressman, would make the story a bit believable. Rescue would be slower and they would be left in the island longer.  As for the student actors and members of the creative team, hats off to all of them for doing justice to their roles, on and off stage. They continue to be the pride of the 92-year-old theater company that once was also the home of the works of National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil Jose and Alejandro “Anding” Roces.  <div> </div><div>&quot;Bangaw&quot; runs until April 25 at the FEU Center for the Arts Studio for one hour and 45 minutes without intermission. </div>

For its 92nd season, the FEU Theater Guild is staging “Bangaw,” a Filipino adaptation of “The Lord of The Flies,” the 1954 controversial debut novel by British writer, Sir William Golding.

For its 92nd season, the FEU Theater Guild is staging “Bangaw,” a Filipino adaptation of “The Lord of The Flies,” the 1954 controversial debut novel by British writer, Sir William Golding.

Theater review: ‘Bangaw’ continues FEU Theater Guild’s literary tradition

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Theater review: ‘Bangaw’ continues FEU Theater Guild’s literary tradition

Totel V. De Jesus

Published April 19, 2026 01:00 PM PHT

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