The twisting,
dream-like narrative of Like Shadows was the first point of
interest for the audience. Derived from playwright/director Stan Lai's
creative workshop at Stanford University, the plot of Like Shadows
unfolded like a thriller. Suspenseful and mysterious, Like Shadows
had been described by Lai as a mixture of The Sixth Sense and
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Indeed, the narrative was
littered with idiosyncratic, whimsical elements, beginning with the
bizarrely named and futuristically dressed narrator Yea (Bowie Tsang)
who informed us that she was the figment of another character's imagination.
Darker motifs - such as shadows and reflections, imaginary characters,
violence and neglect - rounded up Lai's vision.
In such a world, one could allow that a successful businessman would
shoot his wife over an imaginary lover that she had invented purely
to get her husband to pay her some attention. In such a world, the victims
of these violent deaths could be stuck in limbo between life and death,
not realising that they were no longer alive. In such a world, storytelling
could help these wandering spirits to "resolve" their issues
and enter fully into the spirit world. Treading the line between whimsy
and creepy, the plot of Like Shadows was nothing if not imaginative.
The second main point of interest was the set, which skilfully conveyed
this blend of dreamy suspense. Shifting screens and smoothly gliding
walls provided dynamic canvasses for shadowy projected images, manipulating
the audience's view of this dreamscape. One of the light projections
rippled like a water's surface in twilight, belying darker undercurrents.
Mingling with the screens was the lingering murdered wife, flitting
balefully in and out of the shadows like an apparition. Slick and evocative,
the perfectly-executed set combined with a moody music score to create
a shifting, surreal environment.
However, as the story unfolded, using flashbacks and movie-thriller
tactics to keep the audience in the dark, the production lost some of
its hold over the audience. Certainly, the suspense remained, and the
different threads of the plot came together for a satisfying ending,
but the play never really lived up to its potential.
What dragged it down? First, a tell-too-much approach. The production
shifted between mystery and concealment to spelling out every plot detail,
which (apart from causing a lengthy performance time) jarred with the
surreal dreamscape. The narrator, Yea, spouted too many self-conscious
axioms about living, dreaming and storytelling, many of which failed
to convey any deep meaning. Second, the play was cluttered with too
many characters and scenes. This need not necessarily be a weakness,
but in Like Shadows the constant flitting from one scene to
another, from one character to another, diluted the emotional intensity
of each. Before we absorbed the full impact of what was going on onstage,
the scene would end and we were moved seamlessly into another scene.
The result was scattered, movie-like, and somewhat shallow.
The inconsistent acting level of the cast was also jarring. There were
moments of soap-opera acting: at times a misplaced shrillness, at other
times a flatness of emotion. Having said that, there were definitely
sensitive, enthralling performances, such as Ismene Ting's compelling
portrayal of the murdered wife. The scene in which Ting's character
is murdered came after a meticulous exploration of her isolated emotional
condition, and was a superbly crafted climax. This unevenness could
perhaps point to a lack of clarity about where the emotional markers
of the play were situated. For instance, Yea's role - encompassing
narrator, character and playwright's voice - was a weighty one,
but it suffered from a light treatment.
I definitely enjoyed Like Shadows, with its imaginative narrative
and slick audio-visuals. I think my biggest bugbear was its teasing
promise of greatness, which was never delivered. It could have been
a darkly haunting tale about the nature of existence, death and love.
Instead, it was a slick, atmospheric romp that was accomplished in many
senses but wasn't particularly inspiring.
First Impression
A creative process begun in Stan Lai's theatre classes has resulted
in an unusual, detailed tale of people in limbo, caught between states
of being. Simply put, in
Like Shadows, there are some people who are living, some who
are dead and some who are caught in the space between life and death
due to unfinished business.
Those who are stuck in limbo must resolve their issues before they can
move on to the next phase. The story was suspenseful and came together
nicely at the end
with a twist. Backdrops of projected shadowscapes accompanied by saxophone
melodies also created a moody, introspective atmosphere that evoked
a bittersweet emotional landscape. The elements were there for a haunting
story that was inexplicable yet wise, but a tell-too-much approach and
occasional
soap-opera-ish acting dragged it down.
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"Treading the line between whimsy and creepy, the plot of Like
Shadows was nothing if not imaginative"
Credits
Playwright and Director: Stan Lai
Actors: Ismene Ting, Ying Zhaode, Hsu Yen-Ling, Ethan
Wei, Shih Yixiu, Qu Zhongheng, Stephanie Lai, Bowie Tsang, Zhu Zhiying
and Ma Jingtao
Stage design: Mathias Woo
Set design: Ding Nai-sheng
Lighting design: Jian Yi-ren
Executive Producer: Hsieh Ming-chang
Technical Director: Liu Pei-neng
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