Natal/National

The family is the foundation of a nation. Playwright, translator, and director Guelan Varela-Luarca's three plays in Natal/National echo an undeniable truth: nationhood is rooted in family. In these three plays, the intersections of family dynamics and nation-building take center stage.Dogsblood, Winner, Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, First Prize, Full-Length Play, 2023After executing a 70-year-old lady for alleged drug use, an officer adopts the eighteen dogs she left behind.Corridors, Winner, Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, First Prize, Full-Length Play and Hall of Fame, 2024Following her father's death, Anj returns home where her estranged family, led by their National Artist matriarch, falls into the same vicious cycle--feeding the very rot their ancestral home nurtures.3 UpuanSpeaking in hypotheticals and regrets, sibligs Jers, Jack, and Jai make sense of time and existence amidst grief and loss.