Jun Austria's Jokla Club
Of Our People, Of Our Time...
By Kiki Tan

Jokla Club, a play on Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club, was first staged 1994, starring thespians Jun Pablo, George Cabullo, Jeffrey Banzon, and Roni Bertubin.  Its makers – and press relations officers – were then quick to say that it “instantly became a classic,” as it became the longest running lounge play at the time “as the people clamoured for more.”  It was restaged in 1998, this time starring Richard Pinlac, and the late Jun Encarnacion.

This time around, the players include Allan Paule who plays Reni, a hopeless romantic restaurateur, whose creations – like his life – may appear simple, but are filled with complications; Sherwin Ordoñez is Mike, a closeted car dealer still in the hiding for his mother’s sake, living comfortably in the dark until he falls in love; Adrian Ramirez is Oca, the life of the party who is, in reality, in need of more than laughter, but affection; and Roni Bertubin is Joel, whose “now guy” persona hides a longing for something more permanent.

For over 10 years now, the play’s success, arguably, may be because, a la Joy Luck Club, it shows Asian experiences from Asian eyes – in this case, gay Pinoy experiences from gay Pinoy eyes.

This is a relatively unconventional play – even if the original idea was started by Jun Austria (who has been the director of the play’s incarnations), the characters are as much important parts of the creative process because they more than play roles that were pre-written for them, as they are allowed (expected, even) to improvise, adding that personal touch to the play.

And that may also be the good and the bad in Jokla Club.

Good because, as is the case in most impromptu, so to speak, undertakings, the material gains contextual relevance because the players acting out the characters can derive from their experiences on what’s current, what are, therefore, relevant to us now.

But bad because, as an improvisational piece, it relies on how good the players in it are – and by saying good here, it doesn’t only mean how good they are as stage players, but in representing being gay, for that matter, to channel out gay experiences to those watching them (e.g. not token representation, but representational; not just gay aware, but gay experienced, if not completely gay identified; et cetera).

With the good and bad, though, at least at the end of the show one thing remains: Jokla Club still emphasizes that even among gays, there is a lot to life than just being gay – an interesting realization, and assertion, for a material over 10 years old (when gay issues in the Philippines were still pre-modern, even if we’re not yet really post-modern now, unfortunately).  And for that alone, it deserves support... I guess.

From August 9 at Baypark Central, Roxas Blvd., City of Manila.  Tickets at P200.  For more information, call (63) 9236072438.