Review: Why ‘Kaliwaan’ Cuts Deeper in This Adaptation of Pinter’s ‘Betrayal’
August 31, 2025
By: V. Nazareno
A story about affairs may be a dime a dozen. But Harold Pinter’s Betrayal stands apart. Written in 1978 and inspired by the playwright’s own seven-year affair, the play is regarded as one of his major works—subdued, restrained, and quietly devastating. Unlike the loud, fiery confrontations Filipinos might expect in a tale of infidelity, Betrayal thrives on silence, pauses, and what remains unsaid.
For its Philippine staging, Stages Production Specialists, Inc. and MusicArtes present Kaliwaan, a Tagalog translation by Palanca awardee Guelan Luarca-Valera. Still set in 1970s London and Venice, the play’s bones remain, but its emotional resonance deepens in the vernacular.
Structured in reverse chronology, the story spans nine years. We meet Emma (Missy Maramara), who has carried on a seven-year affair with Jerry (Nor Domingo), her husband Robert’s (Ron Capinding) best friend.
The opening scene is deceptively quiet: Emma and Jerry reunite two years after their affair has ended. Small awkward talk—about children, spouses, life—sits uneasily between them. We already know the ending; the intrigue lies in tracing back to where it all began.
Masterclass in Performance
The production’s minimal staging allows the performances to take center stage. Maramara navigates Emma’s interiority with subtlety—her eyes, her hands, her shifting composure revealing more than words. Domingo’s Jerry exudes smoothness and longing, while Capinding dominates the stage with layered complexity. He can disarm with humor, then pivot to a storm of strength and bitterness.
His scenes with Domingo bristle with tension, drawing us into Robert’s fractured psyche.
It is evident that the three actors deliver nothing short of a masterclass in theatrical performance—a joy to witness as they spar and unravel against each other on stage.
Beautiful Language
Luarca-Valera’s Tagalog translation renders the play strikingly intimate. “Mas tagos sa puso,” indeed—familiar phrases and cadences pull the emotions closer, making betrayal sting sharper and tenderness feel heavier. It definitely cuts deeper to the core.
Under Loy Arcenas’ direction, the simplicity of the staging becomes an asset. With Charles Yee’s set and Zoë de Ocampo’s design, the intimate space is transformed into shifting locales. Blocking and spatial choices evoke both London’s cold elegance and Venice’s simmering passions without elaborate sets.
Kaliwaan proves that betrayal doesn’t need fireworks to burn. Sometimes the quietest wounds are the hardest to heal.
Kaliwaan is extended with the following show dates:
September 5 8pm
September 6 5pm and 8pm
September 7, 3pm and 7pm
Get your tickets through https://bit.ly/KaliwaanMNL2025
Photos by Kyle Venturillo and Myra Ho.