As AI Redefines Humanity, JC Santos Turns to Caryl Churchill’s A Number
In A Number, JC Santos plays three different sons, two of which are cloned from the first. Courtesy of WHYNoT
The actor’s directorial debut brings a provocative play about cloning, fatherhood, and identity to the Philippine stage, opening October 9.
In 2002, Caryl Churchill’s A Number came at the height of public debate over cloning. The hour-long play follows a father who secretly cloned his son and is confronted by the unforeseen consequences of doing so. As the play progresses, he interacts with his three sons, two of whom are clones of the first one. In doing so, he faces difficult questions about humanity, identity, and fatherhood.
Fast-forward to 2026, and A Number finds new life and meaning as artificial intelligence blurs the line between technology and humanity. Through its Philippine production with WHYNoT and The Necessary Theater, the same questions find new answers within today’s context.
Running October 9 to 11 and 16 to 18, the limited nine-show run stars JC Santos and Bart Guingona and marks Santos’s directorial debut. It also brings together theater with visual and media arts through a collaboration with artist Miguel Uy and sound artist Frankie Lalunio.
“What drew me to A Number is how simple the story is, but how big the questions are underneath it. It talks about family, identity, technology, and what makes us who we are,” Santos tells Vogue Philippines. “For my directorial debut, I wanted to work on something that would challenge me and Bart Guingona. I’m still discovering the answers myself, and I wanted to discover them together with the actors and audience.”
In his director’s note, Santos focuses on the subject of family. “We are a country that constantly speaks about family, but we should also ask what happens when our devotion to family becomes a way of excusing harmful behavior,” he wrote. “We inherit so much from our parents, and then unknowingly pass it on to our children. Sometimes we don’t even realize that we are reproducing the very things we once promised ourselves we would never become.”
Of the themes in the play, identity is one that speaks to Santos the most. “I think we all ask ourselves at some point, ‘Why am I like this?’ How much of who we are comes from our parents, our experiences, and the choices we make?”’ he says. “As a parent myself, that question became very personal for me.”
More than two decades after it was written, A Number continues to ask what makes a person who they are, and how much identity is shaped by the people who came before them. The production invites audiences to not only examine the identities we inherit, but also the patterns we choose to carry forward.
A Number will run from October 9 to 11, and 16 to 18 at WHYNoT, 4/F Karrivin Studios, Makati.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Number is a 2002 futuristic two-act drama by British playwright Caryl Churchill that explores human cloning, parental guilt, and the classic nature versus nurture debate.
JC Santos is a Filipino actor, singer, dancer, and theater director. He gained recognition for his role as Alejandro “Ali” Nicolas in the ABS-CBN television series Til I Met You and starred in hit films like 100 Tula Para Kay Stella.
Bart Guingona is an actor and producer known for Genus Pan, Hesus, rebolusyonaryo, and Maalaala Mo Kaya.
WHYNoT is an independent, non-institutional creative and collision space in Metro Manila that merges visual and performance arts, fashion, film, design, literature, and technology.
The Necessary Theater is a Philippine theater company founded by director and actor Bart Guingona, known for staging thought-provoking, contemporary, and provocative international and local dramatic works.