CUENCA sheds his TV persona as he debuts in the one-act play Lungs.

One will have to take a deep breath as the characters, called M and W, quibble and quarrel during the whole duration of the play, a one, unbroken conversation for 90 breathless minutes about babies, love and sex.

Lungs is a one-act play about parenthood written by Duncan Macmillan, an Olivier Award-nominated writer and director, whose works are celebrated in his native Britain and all over the world. Macmillan is best known for plays such as People, Places and Things, Every Brilliant Thing and the stage adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984. Originally produced in Washington DC in 2011, Lungs has since excited audiences in the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Malaysia and China.

Written to be performed devoid of props, costume changes or scene transitions, Lungs, with all its ecological decisions and accidental complications, will have its Philippine premiere at the Power MAC Center Spotlight, Circuit Makati, Makati City, from 22 September to 7 October.

JAKE Cuenca and Sab Jose. “The script challenges the director and creative team to think outside of the box. It says it outright that it has to be really simple,” revealed director Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan, whose latest project differs dramatically from his usual repertoire of musicals. “With a minimal set, no light changes and no miming, it’s nice to challenge yourself as a director to find different ways to convey the story without being dependent on the usual things you normally use as devices.”

Pamintuan also expressed that he is excited to introduce Macmillan’s works to Filipino audiences.

Jake Cuenca is ready to make his debut in the Philippine theater scene through the play as M. Having studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York, the film and television star believes that his upcoming performance is a necessary exercise in his development as an actor.

“It’s my first play,” admitted Cuenca. “What I like most about it is that it makes me feel nervous. I’ve been acting for a long time and not many things make me nervous, but this one does.”

Not to be deterred by the task of performing a verbally dense, intimate play in front of a live audience, Cuenca will draw from his own experiences in attempting to flesh out his character, a patient but bewildered musician and would-be father.

“The script is so contemporary…it reminds me of my past relationships. It’s a great way to share those kinds of experiences with everyone,” said Cuenca. “I came to this realization that the humor in the play really comes out not in my individual performance, but in the dynamics that I share with my scene partner.”

His onstage partner, Sab Jose, graduated with honors from the Guilford School of Acting in London earlier this year and is fresh off her performance as Michelle in 9 Works Theatrical’s Eto Na! Musikal nAPO!

Having previously performed in musicals such as The Wedding Singer and Grease, Jose is ready to welcome the challenge of playing W, an intelligent but high-strung PhD candidate and potential mother to life.

“Once you hit your thirties, the questions keep coming. When are you going to get married? When are you going to have kids? I can relate to the anxiety present in that phase of life,” Jose said about the major issues that plague the play’s central couple.

She embraces her character’s neuroticism and her tendency to ramble. “She’s a really fun, scary character to play. With all the pressures of motherhood and from what’s happening to the world, she can’t stop yapping about everything. From wanting to change the world to wanting to make the most of her time in it, she finds herself constantly examining the repercussions of having this child.”

Pamintuan expressed his excitement for the unique pairing of Cuenca and Jose.

“I think their dynamic is amazing. They come from the very different worlds of the screen and stage,” said Pamintuan, who has been overseeing the development of the two leads over the past few months of readings and rehearsals. “To see them coming together through these characters is always a great surprise. It is a great privilege to see them breathe life into Lungs.”

Lungs is a production of The Sandbox Collective and 9 Works Theatrical, together with Power MAC Center Spotlight as an official venue partner. At certain performances, the role played by Cuenca will be played by Gabs Santos.

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