Mad Child Stages Anna Ziegler's 'Boy' a Decade After Its Philippine Premiere

What is it like for a boy raised as a girl?

Mad Child Productions is staging Anna Ziegler’s Boy, which follows the story of Adam, born biologically male and raised as a girl. This punctuates the theater company's season of staging narratives of self-discovery, following Emmanuelle Mattana's Trophy Boys (directed by Jillian Ita-as) and Guelan Varela-Luarca’s Mga Binago ng Araw, (directed by Monty Uy). Its limited two-week staging is from November 27 to 29 and December 4 to 6 at the Mirror Theater Studio in Makati.

Boy premiered in the Philippines in 2016 through a production by Tanghalang Ateneo, which had Cholo Ledesma playing the titular role. Ten years later, he is directing the play with Zoë de Ocampo (Trophy Boys, Patintero sa Ayala Avenue) taking on the role of Adam. Joining him are Topper Fabregas (Ang Huling El Bimbo, Bar Boys) as Dr. Wendell Barnes, Jam Binay (Mga Binago ng Araw, Next to Normal) as Jenny, Toni Go-Yadao (Kisapmata, Ang Pag-uusig) as Trudy, and Marvin Ong (Side Show, Man of La Mancha) as Doug.

Set in the 1960s, Anna Ziegler’s Boy begins with a well-intentioned doctor (Dr. Wendell Barnes) who convinces the parents (Doug and Trudy) of biologically male Adam to raise him as a girl following a terrible accident. Two decades later, as the repercussions of that choice continue to unfold, Adam experiences love amidst confusion over his gender identity. The play is loosely based on the real-life story of David Reimer, which became one of the early hallmark cases used in discussions of gender identity and nature vs. nurture.

Rounding up the creative team are Rafael Jimenez (Patintero Sa Ayala Avenue, Breakup Play or Baucis and Filemon) as Assistant Director, Sabrina Basilio (Gregoria Lakambini, Balete) as Dramaturg, Julio Garcia (Bar Boys, Man of La Mancha) as Set Designer, Jethro Nibaten (Quomodo Desolota Es?, Si Faust) as Lighting Designer, Sage Ilagan (Paano Man Ang Ibig) as Sound Designer and Composer, Paul Martinez as Costume Designer (Art, The Notebook), and Lesley Cao as Projection Designer.

Boy runs from November 27 to 29 and from December 4 to 6 at 5/F Mirror Theater Studio, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City. Early bird tickets are on sale at P1,300 each. Regular ticket price is P1,500, which are available through Mad Child's Google form and through Ticket2Me.

ALSO READ: Theater Review: Boy (Tanghalang Ateneo, 2016) reminds us that sometimes, all anyone really needs is compassion