Theater Review: 'Saglit Lang' Is One Trippy Show Until It's Not

A tangle of plastic straw strings, dingy white drapes, and a peculiar metal contraption fixed to the ceiling define the DIY aesthetic of Saglit Lang, a limited, six-show production by Infinite Cantina. This seemingly shoestring-budget set (designed by Lawyn Cruz) is just one of the show's many commentaries on the Philippine theater landscape: grand spectacle vs. stripped-down space, thousand-seater proscenium theater vs. makeshift studio, international cast vs. local talent, and expensive tickets vs. pay-what-you-can admission.

But before those insinuations are delivered like a litany by Ron Capinding (as Maestro) toward the end, the play presents itself as a whimsical fever dream—reminiscent of the handmade surrealism in Michel Gondry’s The Science of Sleep (2006). We follow Bata (alternately played by BJ Crisostomo and Rico del Rosario), whose character is not a child but a young man entering the scene in pain, fleeing a violent reality, and stumbling into the world of an abandoned theater. There, he meets the Maestro, who tentatively accepts him as a student. Both are initially hesitant, but they slowly develop a poignant master-apprentice dynamic.

The story progresses sequence by sequence, with each beat referencing a classic play, a theatrical element, or both. The first alludes to Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s 17th-century Spanish play La vida es sueño (Life is a Dream), where Bata becomes Segismundo and Maestro becomes a king of many faces. The second utilizes the puppetry of Javanese tradition (Wayang kulit) while following the narrative arc of a hero’s journey. The third is a sequence of war where characters die and are reborn in a loop, referencing Alfonso Sastre's Condemned Squad and the absurdist movement. The next is a mischievous dance between Puck and Bottom, alluding to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, followed by the moral tragedy of Sophocles’ Antigone, and Suzue Toshiro's My Friend Has Come—a meditation on the arrival and departure of a friend. Somewhere, there’s a shoutout (a literal one) to Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, complete with a prop of the notorious tree trunk. Incidentally, Capinding just directed a production of Godot in February for Teatro Meron.

All these are made tangible by Saglit Lang’s central metaphor: a stage floor that is peeled off layer by layer. In each beat, the Maestro teaches Bata the art of performance while offering insights into life, theater, and the intersection of the two. It’s as if every time a strip is removed, the superficialities of acting are discarded to reveal the rawness underneath—the very thing art is meant to do.

This all sounds good on paper, and the script’s rich use of the Filipino language is a beauty to munch on, especially when we get to the resounding parts like “may nabubuo sa pagkawasak.” (Saglit Lang is written by Crisostomo himself.) It could very well be his poetics, one that dives deep into the meta-narratives of the craft, prioritizing the 'how' and 'why' of storytelling over the simple 'what' of the plot.

But the execution is marred by its own ambition: the rundown feels more like a thesis’ Review of Related Literature, which could be hard to get into unless one is well-versed in the literary canon. Personally, I only recognized the Shakespeare, the Greek tragedy, and the absurdist theater on the spot, having to refer to good ol’ Google after the show. (It was only much later that I discovered Infinite Cantina had posted all the references on their Facebook page.) And with one reference going after another, the vignettes ultimately stagnate.

Still, I played along into this trippy sequence of events, navigating the surrealism even through Capinding’s and Crisostomo’s (hopefully intentional) awkward acting. They’re in rehearsals, after all, or at least that’s what I want to believe amid the suspension of disbelief.

And then the fever dream ends with a rather overwritten conclusion.

We see Bata return to the abandoned theater, no longer the fleeing youth but someone who has made it on his own. The Maestro, now old and frail, sheds his role as a mystical guide and adopts the mask of a guilt-tripping parent. He launches into his litany with a dash of emotional manipulation, insisting on his own martyrdom in a way that feels uncomfortably familiar.

If this is meant to be a tender moment between a mentor and apprentice, then it misses the mark. The final act feels more like a study in the heavy, often toxic, utang na loob that permeates Filipino mentorship. If anything, it’s basag-trip.

This is a review of the opening show on April 17, with BJ Crisostomo as Bata.

Saglit Lang runs until April 26 at the 5/F Mirror Theater Studios, SJG Centre, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati. Ticket prices are at P800.

ALSO READ:

Theater Review: DUP's 'Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan' and the Problem With Navel-Gazing

Theater Review: 'A Chorus Line' Shines in the Dance Sequences