Review: Ang Medea – A Raw and Powerful Return to Ancient Tragedy

Me with the whole cast

Teatro Meron’s Ang Medea brings back one of the oldest and most emotional tragedies in theater. The story, written by Euripides around 600 BC, follows Medea, a woman who gave up her home and family for the man she loves. When that man betrays her, she is left with nothing. Her pain and anger push her toward a heartbreaking decision that shocks everyone.

Director Ron Capinding keeps his passion for classical plays alive in this version. He shows that even an ancient story can reflect what people still experience today such as betrayal, injustice, and the fight to keep one’s dignity. This production is also extra special because it is the very first full theater show to be staged inside The Mind Museum. This unique venue adds to the experience, making Ang Medea feel fresh, bold, and unforgettable.

 
Director Ron Capinding

The staging is very simple, which works perfectly. Without big sets or complicated props, the focus stays on the actors and the emotions of the story. This simplicity gives the material more depth and makes every moment feel more intense.

Miren Alvarez-Fabregas delivers an exceptionally powerful Medea, carrying the emotional core of the play with honesty and depth. She shows every layer of the character: a woman who once loved fiercely, a mother fighting for dignity, and a betrayed partner whose world has completely fallen apart. Her shifts from quiet sorrow to explosive anger feel natural and controlled, making each moment land with full emotional force. Even in silence, she communicates Medea’s pain through her eyes, voice, and presence.

What makes her performance unforgettable is the vulnerability beneath her rage. Miren shows not just a furious woman, but someone who feels abandoned, cornered, and stripped of choices. She balances strength and brokenness in a way that makes the audience feel deep sympathy for her, even as the story grows darker. Her commanding presence elevates every scene and anchors the entire production, proving why Medea remains one of the most haunting and complicated figures in classical drama.

Miren Alvarez-Fabregas as Medea

Yan Yuzon’s take on Yason is striking, making him a character you instantly love to hate. He plays the role with a smooth confidence that slowly reveals selfishness and emotional blindness, bringing out the full sting of Medea’s betrayal. His controlled delivery and presence make Yason feel real and painfully believable.

Joseph Dela Cruz as Egeo offers a warm and sincere contrast. His performance brings calm, compassion, and stability to the story, showing the kindness Medea no longer receives from anyone else. Subtle but steady, he grounds the play and adds emotional balance to its most intense moments.

The sound work is flawless. It supports the scenes without distracting from the story and adds to the emotional pull of the play.

Overall, Ang Medea is a simple yet powerful production that proves how timeless this story is. It is both heartbreaking and thought provoking.

Catch the remaining shows of Ang Medea at The Mind Museum Special Exhibition Hall in Bonifacio Global City. Tickets are available through https://tinyurl.com/angmedea.

November 23 (Sunday) - 3:00PM and 7:00PM
November 27 (Thursday), November 28 (Friday) - 8:00PM

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When Art Meets Science: Teatro Meron’s Ang Medea Ignites the Mind Museum

This November, the worlds of art and science converge under one roof as Teatro Meron brings fire and fury to The Mind Museum. Known primarily as a hub for scientific discovery, the museum will, for the first time, transform into a stage for live theater.

In collaboration with Eastern Communications and Tunog at Liwanag sa Teatro Inc. (TLT), Teatro Meron presents Ang Medea, National Artist Rolando Tinio’s Filipino adaptation of Euripides’ classic tragedy Medea. The production marks a bold fusion of intellect, artistry, and human emotion, bridging myth and modern reflection.

Following a well-received run with Tanghalang Ateneo, director and Teatro Meron founder Ron Capinding returns to the piece, leading a strong ensemble headed by Miren Alvarez-Fabregas, who earned critical acclaim for her portrayal of the vengeful Medea.

Explaining his decision to revisit the material, Capinding reflects, “There’s so much to learn from a classic like Medea. Some plays reflect the present, others uncover the past, and a few imagine what’s to come. A true classic can do all of that—and even more.”

In this retelling, Ang Medea confronts the fragility of human dignity and the devastating choices it can inspire. The story centers on Medea, a woman who gives up her homeland for Yason, only to be betrayed and cast out in a foreign land that never truly accepted her. Her struggle contrasts sharply with Yason’s belief that dignity can be traded for power, privilege, and ambition.

Opposite Alvarez-Fabregas is Brian Sy, a seasoned actor recognized for his work in Ang Duyan ng Magiting (2023), GomBurZa (2023), and Midnight in a Perfect World (2020). Alternating in the role of Yason is Yan Yuzon, who previously played the same part to praise for his intensity and emotional range—from blistering fury to aching remorse.

Cast led by Miren Alvarez-Fabregas

Ang Medea will run at the Mind Museum Special Exhibition Hall, Bonifacio Global City (BGC) on these dates:
• November 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 | 8:00 PM
• November 15, 22 | 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM
• November 16, 23 | 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM

A rising force in Philippine theater, Teatro Meron aims to rekindle the relevance of classical works— sparking thought, empathy, and conversation among modern Filipino audiences.

Capinding elaborates on his company’s vision:
“I want to stage not only great classics, but also modern and contemporary plays that share their timeless spirit—pieces that entertain, enlighten, and uplift. In Filipino, nakaaaliw, nakatatalino, at nakapagpapabuti.”

The production also features Teroy Guzman (Kreon), Joseph Dela Cruz (Egeo), Katski Flores (Yaya), Joel Macaventa (Maestro), and Gold Soon and Pickles Leonidas (Koro).

Behind the scenes, Tata Tuviera designs the set, Ian Bautista handles lighting, and Zak Capinding crafts the soundscape. Gabrielle Barredo leads production management, with Mar Suesmith as stage manager, Albriz Bagsic as technical director, and Santi Caruncho providing graphic design.

Tickets are available at https://tinyurl.com/angmedea.


For updates, visit www.teatromeron.com or follow @teatromeron on Facebook and Instagram.

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MIND S-Cool TV Special Episodes to air and Biodiversity Crisis Escape Room comes to The Mind Museum

Hindi lang tayo ang sakop ng buhay; ang bawat buhay sa buhay, magkadugtong-dugtong.

(We are NOT the only ones embraced by life; ALL life is interconnected.)

Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc. (BAFI) and the United States Agency for International Development have joined forces to bring you a two-part biodiversity special of MIND S-COOL TV as well as a traveling Biodiversity Crisis Escape Room (BCER). Both projects serve to innovatively highlight the critical concepts of “roles” and “collaboration” in addressing the biodiversity crisis as well as the “measures” of the values, not only monetary, that we should all consider living with nature.

BCER is the first, traveling, experiential, immersive space, made up of 3 main rooms that will stand for the biodiversity crisis. The goal is for the participants to escape the crisis TOGETHER by helping one another realize and fulfill their roles. BCER will be hosted by BAFI’s The Mind Museum right after its opening at the museum on May 22 and will travel to host venues in Subic (Harbor Point, June15), Puerto Princesa (Robinson’s Mall, June 29) and Davao (Abreeza Mall, July 27) to enjoin participants who include – legislators, enforcers, regulators as well as community leaders – including cultural leaders AND local flora and fauna as well in the form of life-sized moving puppets, manned by professional puppeteers. It will also welcome the general public to experience this very unique and meaningful escape room on the dates mentioned. 

Inside BCER, participants will take on roles that they would randomly pick. They will enter 3 connected rooms that they could only escape from if they understand what needs to be done and that they work together. The challenges they will face in each room are closely tied to realizing the “Mga Sukat ng Kalikasan” (measures/values of nature) in order to escape the biodiversity crisis. The experience will be facilitated so it will mimic the real human conversations and actions that need to happen in decision-making involving our natural heritage in which we all share in terms of not just benefits but also responsibilities.

The 2-part biodiversity special of MIND S-COOL TV, the #1 science show across all channels is a TV version of BCER fleshing out a narrative that will involve our main questers as well as non-human “players” who will be called to help out since MIND S-COOL has been held hostage by the biodiversity crisis. They will experience being trapped in the rooms together with other characters, including life-sized puppets that represent non-humans such as flora, fauna, habitats, abiotic elements giving nature a “voice”. The story of this special 2-part can be summarized as “all life is embedded in nature and we need to realize its many values because if we don’t, the quality of our interconnected lives will be degraded.” Part 1 of this special will air on May 26, 11 am and replayed at 4:30 PM on OnePh Channel on Cignal while part 2 will air the week after. These will be followed by replays for 6 weeks.

Kathy Wachala, Chief of Party for USAID’s Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Oceans and Landscapes (SIBOL) project, says: “This partnership with BAFI to do BCER and MIND S-COOL TV enabled us to roll-out a very powerful way for stakeholders to internalize their actual roles and work together to come up with solutions to the biodiversity crisis.” Maria Isabel Garcia, Managing Director/Curator of BAFI, also comments on the project, saying, “We are so inspired by the kind of partnership we have with USAID SIBOL since it allowed us to recruit very imaginative ways of engagement for science to serve life, biodiversity.”

We can all escape the biodiversity crisis if we understand that all lives are interconnected and that we all work together, now.

To know more about the USAID SIBOL project and its interventions, you may send an email to info@ph-sibol.org.

Mind S-Cool TV and Biodiversity Crisis Escape Room were conceived and created by the Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc., the creator and operator of The Mind Museum and the BGC Arts Center.

TO KNOW MORE, OR IF YOU WISH TO KNOW HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT MIND S-COOL AND THE OTHER PROJECTS OF THE BONIFACIO ART FOUNDATION, please send an inquiry to:

mindscool@bafi.org.ph
inquiry@themindmuseum.org
info@bgcartscenter.org

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