The Sandbox Collective kicks off its sixth year and season with a festival featuring the works of the award-winning English playwright and director Duncan Macmillan. Hot on the heels of its fifth season, which showcased three major productions one after the other, more than enough to leave one breathless and gasping for air—the company takes on its most challenging endeavor to date. In yet another collaboration with its sister company 9 Works Theatrical, The Sandbox Collective is thrilled to bring back two of Duncan Macmillan’s masterpieces—Lungs and Every Brilliant Thing. SANDBOX FEST 2020 brings you two shows in one space, one festival, all poised to kick off one breathtakingly brilliant season.
Managing artistic director and co-executive producer Toff De Venecia shares, “After insistent public demand, we couldn’t not bring back Lungs and Every Brilliant Thing—two Duncan MacMillan masterpieces that really were some of the best and brightest moments of Sandbox’s six storied years in the industry.”
Although the man behind the two masterpieces hardly needs an introduction, it would be noteworthy to mention that Duncan Macmillan’s contemporary socio-political voice has had a great impact and influence on the company at large. Notable for other plays such as People, Places and Things, and the stage adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984, Macmillan has gained a solid reputation for bringing difficult, hard-to-digest issues to the forefront and up for discussion. Macmillan has said, time and again, that his motivation is to “say something that isn’t being said” and to engage his audiences in a timely and relevant conversation on pressing issues—addiction and recovery, depression and mental health and parenthood in a time of climate change and the impending death of the planet. Macmillan has also been quoted as saying, “I didn’t see anyone discussing suicidal depression in a useful or interesting or accurate way.” In the same vein, in writing Lungs, Macmillan felt that he “wasn’t seeing enough about what it’s like to be alive now”. Macmillan’s magic, so to speak, is his ability to weave contemporary socio-political issues into a powerful narrative quite seamlessly and to tell stories that truly speak to his audiences.
Following the critically acclaimed and sold-out runs in 2018 and 2019, Lungs and Every Brilliant Thing will return to the Philippines stage through a shared space and shared advocacy—that of expanding and normalizing the conversation on mental health and climate change. At the very heart of both shows lies the innate goodness of people and the human capacity to overcome both internal and external struggles. Through both productions, you see humanity in full view—the joy and pain, the loss and the gains, the
bleak and the brilliant. Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan, who will be returning to direct Lungs, says, “I want audiences to take away how intense, complicated and beautiful relationships can be.” In revisiting these pieces, The Sandbox Collective hopes to expand the conversation and to extend the advocacy beyond the show. In working with institutional partners and non- profit organizations once again, they hope to inspire action and to present audiences with avenues to help and contribute.
De Venecia adds, ”With Every Brilliant Thing, we were happy to have done our share in shedding light on the subject of mental health that continues to grip the country today. Now with natural disasters occurring left and right, and significant doubt materializing in the age of anxiety, perhaps Lungs has gained a horrific new timeliness as well.”
Every Brilliant Thing will star model and TV host Teresa Herrera and theater actress Kakki Teodoro, who will alternate for the role. Every Brilliant Thing earned six citations in the recent Philstage Gawad Buhay midyear citations, including Outstanding Female Lead for both Herrera and Teodoro. Lungs will star film and TV actor Jake Cuenca and theater actress Sab Jose. Lungs earned multiple nods and garnered a total of seven nominations in the Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards, including Outstanding Male Lead for Cuenca and Outstanding Female Lead for Jose.
Every Brilliant Thing will be directed by Jenny Jamora who will be at the helm once again. Back in the director’s chair as well is Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan who will be directing Lungs a second time around alongside Caisa Borromeo as assistant director. Completing the artistic team are Jodinand Aguillon as production designer and Miguel Panganiban as lighting designer.
Heading the production team are The Sandbox Collective’s managing artistic director Toff De Venecia, 9 Works Theatrical’s executive producer Santi Santamaria, Anna Santamaria as operations & finance director, Sab Jose as marketing & PR director, Maine Manalansan as design director, Jonjon Martin as PR & publicity manager, Salve Villarosa as marketing & PR associate, Vicky Herrera as media & PR associate, Kitkat Lastimosa as design & social media associate, Marcel David as production manager (SANDBOX FEST 2020) and stage manager (Every Brilliant Thing), Pachot Festejo as stage manager (Lungs).
SANDBOX FEST 2020 will run at the Zobel de Ayala Recital Hall, 2/F Maybank Performing Arts Theater, 9th Avenue cor. 26th Street, BGC, Taguig City from March 6 until 29, 2020. Tickets are now available through Ticketworld online or 891.9999 and The Sandbox Collective at 0956 200 4909 / 0917 554 5560 / 586 7105. Festival passes are now available through The Sandbox Collective.
