20 July 2016 - Teatro Filipino, a Filipino youth group in Hong Kong, in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate General and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, presented the Musical “Ang Ugoy ng Duyan” at the Y Theatre, Chai Wan, last July 03. This is the first time that a Filipino musical production was featured in Hong Kong, and even more so by a group composed of Filipino Hong Kong residents.

The play, “Ang Ugoy ng Duyan” (The Sway of the Cradle) is a musical about one Filipino boy’s journey to discovering his roots. It centers around Ibarra (nicknamed Barry), a teenager born in Calamba, Laguna, but raised in Hong Kong, who returns to his hometown in the Philippines to visit his relatives for the first time and arrives as the townsfolk are busy preparing for their annual fiesta. He slowly learns more about his origins through daily encounters with his family and newfound friends, acquaints himself with traditional Filipino culture, and understands how a family’s love and support can help fulfill one’s dreams. As the story unfolds, an encounter with the spirit of Dr. Jose Rizal brings Barry’s journey to its climax.

In her opening remarks, Consul General Bernardita L. Catalla emphasized the importance of supporting the Filipino youth in Hong Kong in the midst of the challenges they face as migrant Filipino children and invited the audience to honor the cast for their dedicated and committed efforts with thunderous applause.

The audience was composed of members of the Filipino Community and Hong Kong locals and invited guests, who were treated to a showcase of Filipino songs and dances.

This is the first major production for Teatro Filipino under the direction of Ms. Catherine Tating Marsden, who also teaches at the Faust International Youth Theatre in Hong Kong.

Teatro Filipino is a newly organized performing group of young Filipinos living in Hong Kong which serves as a creative outlet for education on Filipino culture and heritage. It is composed of members with ages ranging from 5 to 28 years old, most of whom hardly understand and speak Filipino. The dialogues and lyrics in the musical play, however, were set mostly in the Filipino language, which made the performance even more impressive as the cast members delivered their lines and sang the songs as they were written in Filipino.

The group was a recipient of various workshops at the Philippine Consulate given for free by volunteer Filipino professional artists. Their first workshop was in July of 2015 and had their first performance of an excerpt of Jose Rizal the Musical in August 30, 2015 at the public area of the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong in celebration of the “Buwan ng Wika”.

The musical play “Ang Ugoy ng Duyan” is one of the many projects and activities of the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong under its Sentro Rizal Program. END