Moving between the walls of a classroom, a home, an office, and even a party, Ateneo ENTABLADO’s (ENTA) Freedom Wall is ambitious in its aim to educate its audience about sexual harassment and the impact of social media.

Directed by Jerome Ignacio, Freedom Wall follows King Ocampo (Quiel Quiwa), the idealistic student council president, as he fights to find the truth amidst vicious rumors of sexual harassment. Faced with issues of administrative apathy, rape culture, vindictive classmates, and the limitations of his own idealism, King must learn to navigate the gray area of morality and justice in the age of social media.

Rife realities

The amount of research about sexual harassment cases put into this production is impressive, showing its audience in a tension-packed and seemingly quick 75 minutes the pervasive realities that sexual harassment victims face. Director Ignacio milked Tyron Casumpang’s witty and hard-hitting script and successfully crafted striking scenes that kept audience members at the edge of their seats.

Quiwa’s portrayal of King perfectly captures the idealism of a young student leader who has yet to experience the harsh realities of the world he exists in. CJ Paguia’s Gab Go (alternate Matthew Sy), the student-athlete at the center of the rumor, is easy to despise–the personification of entitlement that could only come from someone who has never experienced oppression. Mikaela Regis’ Julia, King’s love interest, somehow fades into the background in the first act as she is overshadowed by her castmates’ stronger personalities. However, Regis manages to carve out pieces of the audience’s hearts with strong emotional scenes in the latter half of the production. The entire ensemble maintains their spectacular energy throughout the duration of the play, supporting its fast pace and leaving no dull moments to criticize.

The cast further shines with the support of a simple set design made only of multiple platforms, boxes, a projector, and some stage props to create a versatile grandstand. Its open design plunges the audience smack in the middle of the actors’ world–both online and offline. Coupled with dynamic lighting and eerily apt sound and visual effects, the minimalist set creates a truly immersive experience that leaves spectators deeply invested in the troubling events of the play.

This purposeful minimalism in terms of production design serves to drive home the message of the play loud and clear: We are responsible for the freedom we are given. By stripping the stage into the bare essentials, set designer Chelsea Hermoso fashions a world hyper-focused on the lives of these teenagers. Gabo Tolentino and Arvy Dimaculangan worked wonders on lights and sound respectively, enriching Hermoso’s world with effects to complement the multilayered script and the cast’s unmistakable tenacity.

Shades of gray  

Overall, ENTA stages an interesting study of morality in the context of the 21st century. They tell their audience that nothing is ever as simple as black and white, especially in issues such as sexual harassment and freedom on social media. In showing how easily weaponized freedom and anonymity are in this era, ENTA forces spectators to re-evaluate how critically they consume the information they are given.

The production mainly relies on its cast members to convey the desperation and frustration the script demands. With a simple set design and calculated sound and visual effects, the pressure truly is on the actors to captivate the audience and deliver the message that needs to be said, and they do not disappoint. Carefully crafted and disturbingly deliberate, Freedom Wall is a timely feast that prompts spectators to widen the discourse surrounding contemporary issues in the age of information.