What We Flush Out: Notes from Septic Tank 4, Now That the Run Is Sold Out
Before the curtain even went up, there was a wall. Sticky notes, three colors, stacked over each other until the board underneath disappeared. The question at the top, in block letters: “Anong gusto mong i-flush sa bayang ito?” What do you want to flush out of this country? People had written names. Robin Padilla. Sara Duterte. Ramon Ang. Alan Peter Cayetano. Si Bato. A few feet away, a second wall — softer, messier, more personal — asked people to spill the real shit instead: “Self Love Stage.” “Ang malimutan siya =).” “Quarter Life Crisis T_T.” One wall wanted a country cleaned out. The other just wanted somebody to survive their twenties. Standing between the two, it was hard not to think: this is either going to be very smart or very tired. Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 4: Oh Sht! It’s Live sa Cheter!* is PETA’s stage leap for a franchise that’s spent fifteen years being a mirror to Philippine media — first to indie filmmaking, then to reinvention culture, and now, finally, to the …
