Play Analysis: Agnoia

“What on Earth am I here for?” as Rick Warren’s bestseller book, The Purpose Driven Life, asks its readers. I think that this is the same question that the play Agnoia tried to convey.
Agnoia is a play performed by the FEU Theater Guild (FTG) last February 2013. The word agnoia is a Greek term which literally means “ignorance” – the perfect definition for man’s inability to understand his being.
The setting of the play was in a hospital – as what the moving props (actors dressed and painted white) and the “Paging Dr. Linaw” suggests. I absolutely loved the stage design. I thought it was very creative and unique (because of its oddity). As usual, Director Dudz Terania did another stupendous job. And it’s already very well known that FTG performers are great actors. So what really stirred me was the story itself.
The play didn’t have a main story. Each of the characters has their own tales; but they share the similar theme: looking for their purpose/destiny.
At the start of the play, all the characters are lost. They didn’t know where to go next with their lives nor were they living the life that was meant for them. Then as the story goes some found out the answer, some didn’t, some are still confused while some just leave everything to the stars. In the end, we all choose to believe what we think is right, there is no single truth.
I think Agnoia is a very good piece because it got me thinking. If you analyze the story, you’ll realize that all the elements are interconnected and are symbolic. Just like the “Paging Dr. Linaw” announcement. The line was repeated several times during the first part of the play. Why? Because all the characters still have the question of purpose or their destiny in their minds. And it’s no coincidence that the doctor’s name was “Linaw.”
I salute Liza Magtoto for creating a wonderful and ingenious narrative.