Status : Verified
| Personal Name | Junio, Chris Joseph G. |
|---|---|
| Resource Title | GUNAM-GUNAM : towards a dramaturgical framework for decolonial adaptation—a filipino reimagination of John Milton's Paradise Lost |
| Date Issued | 11 June 2026 |
| Abstract | This study develops Gunam-gunam as a dramaturgical framework for decolonial adaptation through the creation of Gunam-gunam: Ang Naglahong Paraiso, a Filipino reimagining of John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Situated within the context of Philippine theatre and the University of the Philippines as a contested cultural institution shaped by colonial inheritances and nationalist critique, the study examines how adaptation can function as a practice of pag-aangkin (reclamation) rather than mere translation or localization. Drawing from Raniela Barbaza’s concept of pag-aangkin, Christopher Balme’s theory of theatrical syncretism, and decolonial perspectives on coloniality and cultural production, the research investigates how inherited Western texts may be critically transformed through contemporary Filipino epistemologies and performance practices. Central to the study is the Filipino concept of gunam-gunam, understood as a cyclical process of recollection, contemplation, and yearning. Mobilized as a dramaturgical method, it frames adaptation as an act of remembering, interrogating, and reimagining inherited narratives. Through practice-based research involving textual analysis, translation, cultural adaptation, collaborative dramaturgy, devising, rehearsal experimentation, and performance, the project documents the transformation of Paradise Lost into a site of decolonial reflection and cultural negotiation.The study argues that decolonial adaptation extends beyond the reinterpretation of canonical texts by challenging the epistemological assumptions embedded within them. In doing so, Gunam-gunam offers a dramaturgical framework through which Filipino theatre practitioners may engage colonial inheritances critically, reclaim interpretive agency, and generate new forms of theatrical meaning grounded in local histories, memories, and ways of knowing. |
| Degree Course | Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts : Dramaturgy and Directing |
| Language | English; Filipino |
| Keyword | Decolonial; Drama--Technique; Philippine Theatre; Dramaturgy; Postcolonial; Translation and Adaptation; Postcolonialism and theater--Philippines |
| Material Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
Preliminary Pages
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Category : F - Regular work, i.e., it has no patentable invention or creation, the author does not wish for personal publication, there is no confidential information.
Access Permission : Open Access