Nemesis returns.

I thought that, after a year in the making, I had closed the book on Peter Wilson's Nemesis last May along with Mimay, Betty, Opa and Alvin. A bittersweet end to a play that made a huge dent in our lives.

Then Betty gave Opa and me the news. An invitation to perform at the Avellana Art Gallery (to open the exhibit of Joey Cobcobo) in early May. The theme that was given was "7 heads and 10 horns." Holy kamote, chapter 13 of Revelations. So we decided to look for a post-apocalyptic piece. For 3 people. And fast. And we needed a director, or at least an extra set of eyes.

We had our hearts set on this particular material, and then asked Sir Dennis' opinion. During that very evening, Betty figured we could do Nemesis again, this time with 3 women. Then later that night, Opa messaged us on what Sir Dennis had said. His recommendation was Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit. Oh my golly, I don't think we could pull it off in the span of a few days of preparation. Then in an instant, we all realized... Nemesis was based on No Exit! We really could do the play again!

Of course, doing the same characters again would still be refreshing because we realized more options and choices we could make on each of them. But instead, we're switching things around to make it interesting. It would be fun to delve into the mind of the more complex character. I hope this works.

Read Sartre's No Exit this afternoon. This is where Sartre had said that "Hell is other people," and he was quoted in Nemesis. The words "huis clos" was also mentioned in Nemesis, and was translated to "in camera," which I didn't get at all at first. Apparently, Mr. Wilson had translated it from French to Italian, not French to English, so "in camera" really meant "in room" in English. "Huis clos" literally meant "door close," or a closed door. Looking at all those, it really did mean "no exit," hence Sartre's title.

It's almost May again. And Nemesis has returned. I sure wish Mimay was here in Manila for this event.