The Wheel and Axle

I recently got to watch Repertory Philippines’ Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a comedic play that took some inspiration and influence from Chekov. Except you don’t need to know Chekov to immerse yourself in and enjoy the play.

I went in with almost zero knowledge of the non-musical play – other than it had won a Tony a few years back and it boasted of a pretty esteemed cast – so it was one of those rare moments, in a world full of social media spoilers, wherein I was in for some truly pleasant surprises.

In this play, which I shall abbreviate as VSMS because dear lord that is one long title, we look into a couple of days in the lives of three middle-aged siblings all named by their theater-enthusiast professor parents after Chekov characters. Two of them, the older and semi-closeted Vanya (Michael Williams) and the adopted and insecure Sonia (Roselyn Perez), have been living rather boring lives together, a result of dropping everything else to take care of their parents until they passed away. The third, conceited and beautiful Masha (Cherie Gil), has been supporting them financially as a successful and famous movie actress, albeit one who is always away from the family home. 

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