Pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth — the seven deadly sins figure prominently in Anino sa Likod ng Buwan.

Bulwagang Gantimpala’s first prize winning one-act play written by Jun Robles Lana in 1993 is a psychological drama of only three characters: Emma, her husband Nardo, and their friend Joel, a soldier. It explores the tangled lives of these three individuals as they get caught in a web of politics, love, and betrayal set during the height of military operations in Marag Valley in the early 1990s.

This serves as the maiden production of IdeaFirst Live!, the theater arm of The IdeaFirst Company. Lead cast includes Martin del Rosario (Joel), Ross Pesigan (Nardo) and Elora Españo (Emma). Understudies are Edward Benosa (Joel), Denise Esteban (Emma) and Vincent Pajara (Nardo).

The original play has also become a movie that starred LJ Reyes (she bagged the URIAN best actress trophy), Anthony Falcon and Adrian Alandy.

Seven

At first, Anino Sa Likod ng Buwan gives us a peek into the lives of Emma and Nardo, who are also refugees living in an unnamed town ravaged by the armed conflict between the Philippine military and communist insurgents.

There seems to be an odd and tense bond that Joel (Del Rosario), a soldier, shares with Emma (Españo) and Nardo (Pesigan). One evening, as a lunar eclipse is about to take place, tensions are not only palpable but escalate, emotional facades erode, and yes, the seven deadly sins — thanks to the intelligently written script and truth given by the actors to their respective characters — take centerstage as they engulf and intoxicate the three characters.

Lust binds the loins of Emma and Joel. They also succumb to gluttony, not for food, but for the callings and the dictates of the carnal and forbidden.

Pride blinds Emma and Nardo, as it provides them with the overconfidence that they have the upper hand in this cat and mouse chase they have instigated. This deadly sin consumes the soldier as he deciphers and uncovers the truth with his divide-and-conquer tactic.

Envy is Nardo’s kryptonite, eating him up and making him weak, a coward even with his “too late the hero” proclamation of feelings.

Sloth, depicted with the ruthlessness of the military and how they annihilate the subversives, is in the remorselessness of Joel, the immorality of the trio, and the pretentiousness they hold dear, which does not give the catharsis and resolve they want.

Wrath, of course, is the deadliest sin of all, as it drives the characters to madness and quicken the timeline of the tragedy.