Production
Company
Reviewer
Date Seen
Quote
Rating
Reviewer
Date Seen
Quote
Rating
Production
Company
Reviewer
Date Seen
Quote
Rating
Production
Company
Reviewer
Date Seen
Quote
Rating
Production
Company
Reviewer
Date Seen
Quote
Rating
Production
Company
Reviewer
Date Seen
Quote
Rating
Production
Company
Reviewer
Date Seen
Quote
Rating
Reviewer
Date Seen
Quote
Rating
Production
Company
Reviewer
Date Seen
Quote
Rating
|
Death
of A Hero
Puppet Square and The Esplanade
Ng Yi-Sheng
02/05/2008
There're so many things I liked about this production: the
raw energy of the large ensemble, the live drum music, the gloriously
messy set of crumpled newspaper, the heights of fantasy and the depths
of slapstick and horror that it encompassed. And yet the show did not
overwhelm me – I simply could not find a direct emotional connection
to the piece. I kept being bothered by the weakness of the protagonist
Ah Hock - the actor seemed to have been typecast for the role rather
than actually being a strong actor portraying weakness. And while I
could posit a connection between the twin storylines – something
about embattled masculinity –a problematic semantic gulf still
remained between the two. This is a play that impresses, yet doesn't
quite feel complete.
***1/2 (full review coming)
Kenneth Kwok
01/05/2008
This is a play of two worlds - the contemporary one where our
hero is saddled with unemployment, bad debts and a pregnant girlfriend,
and the mythical one where he is a brave warrior who saves a village
(and a fair maiden) from an army of a hundred monsters – and director
Benjamin Ho’s vision for Death of a Hero brought both
to vivid life on stage with the help of Fiona Lim’s lighting design,
percussion work by the Zing-O Drum Group and a spirited ensemble cast
who took on multiple roles with much commitment and discipline. The
use of physical theatre and puppetry was not always the most innovative
I’ve seen but certainly consistently engaging although I must
admit that against the kaleidoscope of images, the hero’s story
faded into the background. Hero was an enjoyable and exhilarating
work but I left unsure of what exactly it was trying to say about modern
society and the myth of heroes. I’m still undecided about the
set as well which consisted entirely of newspapers: it was visually
very striking and there’s a statement about the media somewhere
in there but it was also distracting to see the actors trying to wade
through the mass of crumpled newspaper strewn on the ground.
***1/2
Peti Kayu Ibuku
Teater Ekamatra
Kenneth Kwok
27/04/2008
Peti Kayu Ibu is an adaptation of Kuo Pao Kun’s My
Mother’s Wooden Chest and if I tell you that it is a one-woman
play describing a woman’s relationship with her mother through
a series of coming of age anecdotes, then you'll know what to expect;
and the play does not disappoint. Neither does it ever surprise, however,
which is a disappointment in its own way. The lack of humour and colour
means the play strikes only one wistful, earnest note throughout and
while this can be effective, it can also try the audience’s patience.
Actress Mastura Ahmad, like the play, sticks to the tried and true but
there is a deep sincerity and sense of knowing in her understated performance
that nonetheless manages to convince and engage.
***1/2 (full review coming)
Hamlet
TNT Britain
Vivienne Tseng
25/04/2008
This production thrives on the strength of the excellent ensemble, the
sensitive weaving in of music, and the comedic sensibilities of director
Paul Stebbings. Comedy overshadows tragedy in this straightforward,
sometimes literal yet strangely fresh version of Shakespeare’s
tragic play. The college frat-boy take on Hamlet’s relationship
with Ros and Guil, in particular, will entertain in this production
of the shorted First Quarto. This feels like Hamlet: The Best Of
with a running time of just slightly over two hours.
**** (full review coming)
The Enchantment of Sangkuriang
SimplyWorks
Ng Yi-Sheng
17/04/2008
Director Jeffrey Tan's made a curious offering at the altar of contemporary
theatre: a re-enactment of the Indonesian legend of Sangkuriang, with
a full gamelan orchestra, traditional headdresses and sarongs, and not
a single direct reference to the 21st century world. What's the audience
to make of this? It's certainly aesthetic, what with the traditional
music and startlingly simple yet effective lighting effects to convey
fireflies or daybreak. And there's a flavourful streak of disorder running
through the work – the sequence of events is artfully jumbled,
and the all-important scenes of the taboo (like patricide or woman-on-dog
sex) are conveyed with subtlety, never overdone; special kudos to actor
Fared Jainal for his tender yet unnerving portrayals of humans trapped
in the shapes of animals. But at the end of this hour-long piece, one
hungers for something more, something truly disruptive, something complex
and confrontational. Something – dare I abuse the term? –
contemporary.
***1/2 (full review coming)
The Man Who Looks For Signs II
Ming Poon
Malcolm Tay
09/04/2008
Ever watched a dance and had the urge to give the choreographer a piece
of your mind? This work-in-progress by Singaporean dancer Ming Poon
will let you do just that in a post-show dialogue. The Europe-based
performer is staging the newest rendition of a solo that he began making
five years ago, and he wants your feedback to improve it. Version one
debuted here in 2005 as a brief segment of a larger production; this
latest account, now 30 minutes long, looks nothing like its predecessor,
though its subject – one man’s quest for meaning in a time
of flux – remains the same. Poon cuts through space with leopard-like
grace, shuttling from one image to the next; before the eye can take
in the shape and flow of one, it melts away and segues into another.
Though his references seem unclear at times, his muscular dancing is
compelling to watch. See it for yourself – and if you don’t
agree, tell him.
***1/2
The Soldier and His Virtuous Wife
The Theatre Practice
Kenneth Kwok
09/04/2008
The laughs are often cheap and obvious but that shamelessness is the
essence of the play: Soldier is here to entertain entertain
entertain and this it does with much colour and charm. The funniest
moments are when this ridiculously over-the-top musical-comedy take
on Chinese opera segues into Western pop cultural references and sensibilities
(Bananarama, hip hop, vogueing) but really, the whole play is gag after
gag. Kudos to director May Lan for her vibrant vision (and attention
to detail - look out for the sight gags in the background) and the strong
ensemble cast especially Darius Tan as the billionaire trying to lure
the Virtuous Wife from her Soldier husband and Liu Hong and Katherine
Tang as his sycophantic sidekicks. Utterly hilarious!
****
Ng Yi-Sheng
04/04/2008
A rollicking good show! Though derived from the tropes and traditions
of Chinese opera, The Soldier and His Virtuous Wife overflows
with zany contemporary physical humour and wit, stimulating viewers
with a non-stop array of song, dance and acrobatics. Director May Lan,
who originally staged this Taiwanese musical here in 1996 and 1998,
succeeds brilliantly with a new cast of gifted singers and actors. Joanna
Dong is especially charming as Meiying, the virtuous wife herself, defending
the honour of her husband who's gone off to war with equal parts innocent
charm and ballbreakin' girl power, though, in fact, the whole ensemble
packs a punch: the goofy husband Qiuhu (Ric Liu), the charismatic villain
Master Lee (Darius Tan) and the kungfu-kicking Officer (Gordon Choy),
to name a few. And the polymorphic anarchy of the show is unbelievable:
arias break into pop songs, tea ceremonies dissolve into the macarena,
servants hurl chocolate ingots into the audience and old mother-in-laws
or lechers burst out with tunes from The Phantom of the Opera
or The Magic Flute or Teresa Teng's Greatest Hits.
It is mad, and in the best way possible: I barely stopped laughing throughout
the 105-minute performance.
****1/2
Pinnochio's Complex
The Finger Players
Kenneth Kwok
03/04/2008
Oh dear. I had high hopes for Pinocchio's Complex because of
the acclaim for playwright/director Oliver Chong's I Am Just A Piano
Teacher (2006 - which I, unfortunately, did not get to see) and
the play's promising concept: the story of Pinocchio was being used
as inspiration for an exploration of what it means to be truly living
and truly in love. However, for all the visual excitement packed into
the production - and, to be fair, there was much of this to enjoy, right
to the very final scene when an avalanche of "snow" fills
the stage - the individual moments just did not come together to create
any real dramatic momentum or impact. The narrative suffered from problems
with pacing and structure (there was simply too much dead time which
even Chong's directorial flair could not mask) and the dialogue failed
to engage because much of it consisted of the same phrases and ideas
being repeated without any sense of this being crafted to achieve a
specific effect. The acting was competent but none of the actors looked
fully convinced by what they were saying or doing - a sentiment shared
by this member of the audience.
** (full review from Matthew Lyon coming)
Site last updated 6 May 2008 - What's On listings for May and June updated.
|
