Cock
Event: “Cock” by Buds Theatre Company
Venue: Drama Centre Black Box
Run: 10th – 13th May ’12
Written by: Mike Bartlett
Directed by: Rayann Condy
Cast: Walter Hanna, Koey Foo, Rebecca Lee, Ray Condy
“Cock”, the word, may refer to many things. For one, it might make reference to the sexuality context as presented here. However, on another level, it can seem more like a reference to a wakening, or a call to listen up.
The play was all about John (Walter Hanna), a man caught between deciding whether to return to his ex-boyfriend or building a new life with his new girlfriend. Suddenly confused if he’s straight or gay (or maybe bi-), it is about a man’s journey of self-discovery, not just his sexuality, but about who he is. With the boyfriend (Koey Foo), he is in an almost oppressive relationship where he plays the “child”. But with her (Rebecca Lee), he matures and is allowed to take charge, where he discovers he could be something more. I guess in a relationship, it’s really about how someone brings something good out of you, no matter who it is.
Repeatedly, John is questioned about finding out what or who he is, although I think the “what” and “who” one is can be different. What you are or do doesn’t necessarily define who you are. It is who you are that defines what you let yourself be or do. Or maybe that’s the whole point? (I don’t know if this makes any sense)
One of my first thoughts during the show was “that’s quite a lot of talking/conversation going on”. So it would make for a rich script dealing with modern issues and conflict. One can’t decide if you should take John as a two-timing selfish guy who wants the best of both worlds, or the confused lost boy who doesn’t know what to do when caught in-between. However, a decision had to be made, and it was back to the old, or was it really? Even as John’s boyfriend had “won” him back as a “trophy” as John terms it, you know it won’t be the same; with his defiance at the end (about the cushion and lights), you sensed that he might have found a part of who he is, and maybe, just maybe, the future would be at his own terms.
An occasional light humour surfaced from time to time, and though the actors brought emotional and conflict points forward, maybe it could have been pushed a bit further. As I said, I felt there was a lot of “talking” going on, so I could be missing something there.
A Chorus Line
Event: A Chorus Line
Venue: Sands Theater at Marina Bay Sands
Run: 4th – 27th May 2012
Dance Dance Revolution
It’s kinda hard to believe, but in the hallowed ranks of the longest-running Broadway shows of all time, “A Chorus Line” actually stands at an overwhelmingly impressive Number 5, although it will in all likelihood soon be surpassed by ‘The Lion King”, which is only less than a hundred shows behind.
Directed and choreographed by the legendary Michael Bennett, “A Chorus Line” first opened on Broadway in 1975, and although its cultural references may evidently be dated in today’s milieu, the musical still stands out for its incredibly bold and adventurous premise.
One can only imagine how revolutionary this concept musical was back in the 70’s, and the huge list of Tony Awards it has since amassed is a testament to the sheer impact which this 125-minute musical had on the musical theatre landscape.
It is an example of taking an intriguing concept to the nth degree, and doing a heck of a good job out of it.
The story is simple enough – everything happens in a dance studio where director/choreographer Zach conducts dance auditions to select a chorus of 4 male and 4 female dancers for a Broadway show.
The opening scene is where we are immediately thrust into the thick of the action, where all the eager auditionees are being hastily put through their paces.
Shortly after, the group is whittled down to 17, and from there we are slowly presented with the life stories of the remaining auditionees.
“A Chorus Line” has definitely got to be the most dance-intensive musical I have ever seen, and one can only imagine the hours of rehearsals that went into preparing for this show.
But apart from the scintillating choreography, the strength of the musical lies in the fact that we are immediately introduced to the ambitions of all the characters right from the get-go (“I Hope I Get It”), and in this case it so happens that they all have the one singular goal – and that is to secure a place in the chorus.
And thus the thrust of the musical is immediately established, and as the show progresses we are slowly being drawn into the lives of these fascinating characters.
We learn of their backgrounds, we learn of what they’ve been through, we learn of their strengths, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities, and we learn how much this job means to them.
They lay bare their soul to the audience, sometimes in heart-wrenching fashion, and you can’t help but develop a strong sense of sympathy for some of these characters.
In many ways you could say that this was the original reality TV show – assemble a bunch of colourful characters with roughly the same expertise all gathered to win a common prize, and in the process stick a candid mic in their faces and see them reveal their innermost hopes, dreams and fears.
You may not develop an affinity for every single character, but you’d inevitably start rooting for at least a few of them.
One point of note though: As much as I was drawn into the entire musical, I was strangely unaffected at the end when the final 8 candidates were eventually chosen.
To me, somehow it didn’t really matter who got the job or not in the end.
I’m not exactly sure why this was the case, but my friend who was with me that night also concurred.
“A Chorus Line” runs from start to end without intermission, and truth be told, an intermission would be inappropriate anyway, considering the entire musical flows seamlessly without actually breaking up into distinct scenes.
It may have been 37 years since this ground-breaking musical first took Broadway by storm, but even till today “A Chorus Line” still rings clear with an astounding sense of novelty and vitality.
Successful shows tend not to run on Broadway for extremely long periods of time without good reason, and in “A Chorus Line” you can be assured that you will have every reason to be thrilled by this exceptional if not unconventional piece of musical theatre.
The Kanjoos (The Miser)
Event: “The Kanjoos (The Miser)” by HuM Theatre
Venue: DBS Arts Centre
Run: 10th – 13th, 17th – 19th May 2012
Generous Laughs
HuM Theatre returns once again with a local adaptation of Moliere’s French farce “The Miser”, in the form of their very own “The Kanjoos”.
“Kanjoos” comes from the lead character’s name Kanjooswamy (played by Subin Subaiah), a local businessman in the toilet fittings business who happens to be the biggest scrooge you’d find anywhere.
A character such as a miser naturally opens up a plethora of comedic possibilities, and Subin (who also had a big hand in writing a lot of parts into the adaptation) gamely milks it for all it is worth, from charging all guests 50 cents to use their living room jukebox, to peering into his neighbour’s home to freeload off his wi-fi, to getting all-round handyman Gerald Chew to ride an exercise bike to serve as a generator to power his house lights.
The reusing of teabags – all hung neatly on the garden clotheslines – for afternoon tea was a hilarious if not elaborate touch.
HuM Theatre delivers on what they do best, and that is providing generous doses of laughs through comedy.
I thought the audience response on Friday night was fantastic, but according to the cast and director, it was even better on opening night, so I think the show doesn’t have too much to worry about in this respect.
As with all their other shows, it is husband-and-wife team Subin Subaiah and Daisy Irani who undeniably hold it all together with their superior comedic acting and unmistakble chemistry.
But their biggest strength might also be their weakness, because as with their other shows, Subin and Daisy’s performances tend to easily outshine the rest of the cast, and in the case of “The Kanjoos”, I found the acting to be rather uneven, even though newcomer Clarice Jena Luo did remarkably well with her faux Chinese-national-accented English.
Credit must also be given to Subin for writing in so many current references – both local and international – into the play, such as the obligatory PAP references, ERP gantries, the Euro debt crisis, Goldman Sachs “muppets” and so on, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The play was typical farce, with the action happening fast and furious.
Things got a bit laborious midway through the second act though, and there came a point where the chuckles started to get a bit forced and you started to wonder where all this was headed to.
It has to be said that there is a fine line between farce and cheap slapstick, and at times “The Kanjoos” found itself bordering dangerously close to cheap slapstick territory.
But whatever it is, one cannot deny the fact that HuM Theatre knows how to put a smile on your face, and in this particular adaptation of Moliere, Subin and Daisy pull out all the stops to make sure that even the worst of penny pinchers have nothing to complain about.
Cock
Event: “Cock” written by Mike Bartlett (staged by Buds Theatre Company)
Venue: Drama Centre Black Box
Run: 10th – 13th May ’12
Firstly, a word or two about the discouraging turnout when we attended “Cock” on Thursday evening.
The only time I ever remember being in a theatre less filled than this was when we watched “Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral” in 2010 at the Drama Centre Theatre.
I reckon the black box was barely one-fifth filled on Thursday evening, and one knows that it is always tough for the performers whenever they see themselves faced with a largely empty room.
Nonetheless, credit should always be given to the performers for bravely trudging along.
“Cock”, directed by Rayann Condy, tells of a man named John (played by Walter Hanna) who, shortly after breaking up with his boyfriend (Koey Foo), meets and falls in love with a beautiful woman (Rebecca Lee).
The play explores one man’s psyche and sexuality, and towards the end of the play John is forced to make a choice – does he go with his former boyfriend, who constantly lords over him and treats him as the “trophy” boyfriend, or does he go with the woman, who has awoken his never-before discovered senses, both sexually and otherwise?
I felt that “Cock” was not so much a play about gay issues per se, but it was more a piece on discovering one’s self and trying to figure out what you really want in life, especially when it comes to relationships.
Relationships are always going to be complex, that much we know, but who you eventually choose will have a profound impact on the rest of your life.
“Cock” also asks the question – Are our identities an absolute construct, or are we ultimately shaped by the relationships we have with our partners?
It is hard to make of Walter Hanna’s portrayal of the character John, to be honest.
At times you want to view him as the poor unfortunate victim, caught between a rock and a very hard place, and at times you can’t help but think that he’s the selfish and cruel prick in all of this, playing both of them as puppets, twisting them round his little finger.
I thought the set design, essentially a myriad of cubes stacked randomly on top of each other, worked pretty well and served the needs of the play rather cleverly.
Overall, “Cock” was fairly easy to follow, although I felt that there was a lot of subtlety in the text which was not fully brought out in the acting.
I thought the production was slightly let down by the acting, even though the script itself had enough quality to at least hold everything together.
Now if only something could be done about the title.
The Trocks
Event: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Run: 1-5 May 2012
Venue: The Esplanade Theatre
The Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, or more affectionately known as ‘The Trocks’, is a company of professional male dancers performing the full range of ballet and modern dance repertoires, established since 1974 in Manhattan. They are known for their parodical takes on these ballets, and one would definitely be in for a good time, in their light-hearted struts and pirouettes.
The show was in 3 acts, each an excerpt from 3 different ballets – 1) Le Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake, Act II), 2) Le Grand Pas de Quatre, 3) Raymonda’s Wedding.
It was a very condensed Swan Lake and my fave out of the 3 acts as I personally felt it was the funniest of them. It could be it was something I was most familiar with out of the three. But i think there were more “hiccups” made and the exaggerations (of course on purpose), with the animated facial expressions and gestures that the dancers made. Hilarious. Robert Carter as Odette was a gem and did one of the best fouettés for the night. After watching this, it made me want to watch Swan Lake again just to make comparisons, especially since I last watched it some years ago.
In Le Grand Pas de Quatre, it was a medley with a pas de deux (duet), a pas de quarte and a solo. The funniest to me was the parody of the 4 greatest ballerinas of the romantic age in the pas de quarte portion of which the work was originally choreographed for. The silent tussle between the four was comical, if not a reflection of real life maybe. Never put more than one prima ballerina together! Another highlight from this act would be the solo by Paul Ghiselin, which was from Swan Lake(?), of which Paul played the swan princess. The fascinating thing was, how did he manage to stuff so many feathers in the tutu? They just kept shedding as Paul moved from end to end, to end, on toes.
What was funny for Raymonda’s Wedding was something from the synopsis: “…The Trockadero ignores all of these plot intrigues and presents the happy ending”. So indeed, we were at the last bit of the original dance. The most outstanding character was the noble “lady” dressed in all white with a hennin, who only walked en pointe in and out. The dances were lively and as before, amusing. The finale for the whole programme was a swing dance complete with somersaults and a mirror ball.
I believe what made it funny was how some of the “shortcuts” to the footwork made the classical proper way seem a bit excessive and affected. Not to mention the exaggerated fumblings and acting. Not that I don’t appreciate the gracefulness of the proper steps (on the contrary, I love it), but this was a lighter take on that. And although we might be distracted by their hilarious antics, the dancers had really nifty footwork when you watched them carefully. They may look chunky and heavy, but light-footed they were as these men balanced themselves on their toes delicately and skillfully.
Another point, even though these were parodies, I felt it wasn’t to poke fun at classical dance as an art. But rather, with the display of possible accidents, the casting issues, the technicalities, etc., it just shows the amount of work that goes behind putting up a dance, from choreography to the team work involved.
Keep on trockin’ Trockadero.
Coming Soon: Songbird
Event: Songbird (as part of the Singapore Arts Festival 2012)
Venue: Various (starting point at the Esplanade Park)
Run: 24th – 27th May 2012
This is a rather quirky one.
We don’t get too many arts shows like these coming our way very often.
Created and conceptualised by Tara Tan over a year ago and produced by her arts collective Studio Now & Then, “Songbird” is billed as “the nation’s first iPhone-based narrative journey that is set to take storytelling to new heights.”
One of the many interesting features of this show is that participants will be led on a narrative adventure, starting from the Esplanade Park and on through various locations, all while having to rely heavily on their iPhones.
Participants are required to download the custom-made “Songbird” iPhone app for this show, as it would be instrumental in guiding them on their journey.
The premise of the show is that a glamorous singer named “Songbird” mysteriously disappears before she is supposed to make her debut concert at the Arts Fest.
And thus, participants are led on a 1-hour journey whereby they will hopefully be able to make sense of the strange disappearance through the various multimedia clues that present themselves on the iPhone app during the tour.
Production on this show started in January this year, and it has been five months of hard work for Tara and the team in preparation for this show.
The iPhone app was developed by local tech firm Tinkertanker.
“Songbird” promises to be a highly unique and interactive experience, and interested participants should book their places at book.hellosongbird.com before they run out.
Who knows?
You might even get to catch a glimpse of the elusive “Songbird”!
Showtimes: 5pm to 9pm (shows run every 15 mins)
Admission: Free (but bookings are necessary)
Website: www.hellosongbird.com
App Download: itunes.apple.com/us/app/songbird-story/id520417453?mt=8
Twelfth Night by SRT
Event: Shakespeare in the Park : Twelfth Night
Run: 25 Apr-20 May 2012
Venue: Fort Canning Park
Directed by: Bruce Guthrie
Cast: Adrian Pang, Rebecca Spykerman, Keagan Kang, Shane Mardjuki, Seong Hui Xuan, Neil McCaul, Daniel Jenkins, Vicky Williamson, Andy Tear, Jon Cancio, Tan Shou Chen
My first outing to Shakespeare at the Park! And it was great the weather held up such that it didn’t dampen opening night.
On first entering the performance area, you can’t help but notice the elaborate set with its yacht (!), waves (quite realistic, even with high & low tides), sandy beach and castle front. I think the set itself is worth looking at.
I’m not familiar with the text of Twelfth Night, having only read an abridged version. What I can recall was that it was about mistaken identities, which is what drives the story in the comedic, but all’s well that ends well ending.
Maybe as it was my first Shakespeare in the Park, it took me a little while to warm up to the open setting and get focused on the show with the different acoustics of the area. The quickened pace in the second act, where most of the humour occurred, rectified that a bit.
The highlight for the night was Adrian Pang’s melodious and melancholic renditions when he was tasked to entertain with songs as Feste, “the fool”. It garnered applause each time without fail. We were duly mesmerized. One doesn’t really get to hear him sing such genre or in this manner in other productions that I’ve watched. Daniel Jenkins was great sport too as Malvolio, the snooty and pompous steward who was much the butt of jokes. These seasoned actors brought much life to the show and easily stole the stage from the rest of the cast. The playful Sir Toby and Maria, played by Neil McCaul and Vicky Williamson respectively were also rather lively, despite Sir Toby’s excessive drunkenness. In fact, I felt the comic sub-plot dominated the show. Other than that, you could spot some minute disparities in terms of experience and skill, especially among the younger cast. A friend of mine commented on the various accents and articulation styles we could hear, which was probably not helped much with the Shakespearean text. However, with it being only opening night, I guess the cast would get themselves more acquainted and practiced in the execution of the play. Indeed, the treatment could have been less subdued, given the original reference to the revelry of the festival of Twelfth Night. I felt the role of Viola could have been brought out more feisty, animated and stronger in character, especially when she took most of the time on stage. On the other hand, Olivia might have seemed a little too girlish from what I expected.
As for the sound, one couldn’t help but notice the musicians perched on a separate scaffold structure at the the side. One couldn’t really see them as they were shielded from our eyes, but hear them we could, though it felt a little precarious on a slope, gentle as it may be. One unfortunate matter was that the music was a bit loud at points, especially at the bar scenes, so it was a tad harder when we tried to listen to what the actors were saying in those scenes. I guess it’s more difficult to get it right in such a space. I was also slightly distracted by the ongoing band activity at Timbre, which we could hear from the Park, but that can’t be helped.
Well, if you want a peek into Shakespeare, Twelfth Night might do the trick if you prefer something light and less text-heavy.
The show runs till 20 May. Tickets can be bought via sistic.com.sg.
A Tribute to Emma Yong
One of the greatest voices I’ve ever had the privilege of experiencing at the theatre.
A third of the popular Dim Sum Dollies trio, I have been in absolute awe of Emma Yong’s amazing talents ever since the early days of the Dollies.
I’ve had the good fortune of attending many of her performances over the years, e.g. the Dim Sum Dollies productions, “Cinderel-LAH!” (both in ’03 & ’10), her solo recital at the Esplanade Recital Studio (“From Bjork to Broadway” in ’05), “Boeing Boeing” (’05 & ’10), “Little Shop of Horrors” (’06), the “Crazy Christmas” productions, “Sing Dollar” (’09), “Beauty and the Beast” (’09), “Blackbird” (’10) and so on.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I have never failed to get a thrill out of seeing Emma Yong on stage each and every time.
She seemed to effortlessly endear herself in a way which no other actress could.
There was always that something special about her, that X factor which only comes once every generation.
In my mind there was no other actress in Singapore theatre who possessed the combination of beauty, talent and all-round glowing qualities that Emma possessed.
And her voice – is there a more beautiful singing voice in all of local theatre?
It’s been more than seven years, but I’ll never forget the moment she presented the song “When All The Tears Have Dried” at her solo recital concert in 2005 (clip above).
She shared that she would bring this song in with her to auditions when she was in the UK, and people would always ask her where this song came from.
Then she went on to deliver the number in a way which, up till today, I have not heard anyone even come close to matching.
One of the most unforgettable performances I had ever had the privilege of witnessing in a theatre.
That would be the one defining moment that will always remain with me.
RIP Emma Yong.
You will forever be missed.
Trainstopping: The Year in Revue 2011
Event: “Trainstopping” by Sight Lines Productions
Run: 26 April – 3 May 2012
Venue: Chamber @ The Arts House
Written by: Jeremy Yew & Darius Tan
Directed by: Derrick Chew
Cast: Celine Rosa Tan, Siti Khalijah Zainal, Darius Tan
When my co-reviewer is part of a production, and no less, the writer of the show, surely must watch right? And it was a joyful ride as the cast of three brought the audience through an entertaining review of the past year’s bungles of ‘you-know-who’s and inside jokes that were so relevant to us Singaporeans.
In the 90-minute discourse that was right-on-schedule without delay, we were “(en)trapped” the moment doors closed as “passengers” in a stalled train. I liked this concept and it was well followed through even to the end of the show when the audience were led out as if in an evacuation exercise, and not forgetting the “countdown” in the last half hour or so, as the “PA system” announced the remaining minutes to “train service resumption” (i.e. the end of the show). The layout of The Chamber also served the show well with the close central walkway and audience flanked on each side simulating a train cabin.
Material was quite current, including the SMRT excuse chits and what’s been trending, which goes to show how long-drawn some issues have been, but also with talk of floods, station names, the “Singapura” musical, and such. Well, with a revue, there would be hits and misses, but my personal favourites included the Adrian Pang lawyer joke, the in-carriage do’s and don’t’s, “ponding” and definitely, Siti Khalijah on her East-West ‘sayang’ ride. Haha, the Star Awards last night reminded me of the Tay Ping Hui segment. And for songs, you will hear the familiar tunes of pop and musical hits like “One” (from A Chorus Line), Bruno Mars & Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire”, Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”, “What is This Feeling?” (from Wicked) and more, sung to new spoofing lyrics.
The cast was great and I believe they played a major part in carrying the show. I don’t think you’ll go wrong with a cast like them. Some of the beng moments by Darius vaguely reminded me of Broadway Beng. I wouldn’t say the show was hilarious, but it packed its own fair share of laugh-out-loud moments. My friend next to me was laughing non-stop though. I only had some problems with the sound as the speech turned out a bit muffled as certain points, probably due to the acoustics of the Chamber.
Anyway, kudos to my partner, the whole production team and cast for their good work with Sight Lines‘ inaugural production. Keep it up! And we’ll see more of you.
So folks, don’t delay liao, ’cause the last service ends 3 May.
Tickets can be bought at http://www.bytes.sg here or call 6322 6919 for the Arts House Box Office hotline.
And last words…“Don’t break the glass!”
William Shakespeare’s “Romeo+Juliet” by W!ld Rice
photo credit © Albert Lim KS
Event: “Romeo & Juliet” by W!ld Rice
Venue: Drama Centre Theatre
Run: 12th – 28th Apr 2012
Directed by: Ivan Heng
It’s kind of strange I never watched a staging of this timeless classic. Or is it we hardly get it staged here? Anyway, I’ve watched the movie versions; i believe I’ve watched the 1968 version by Zeffirelli (where the theme song ‘A Time for Us’ was derived, of which a strain of it was used in this staging), the 1978 BBC version, and the more recent 1996 version by Baz Luhrmann which I totally loved.
So it is in much anticipation that I trode the path of experiencing the play as it was originally written for, the stage. What would be the treatment be like this time round? One realisation is how focused one gets on the text of the play, and it really brings us back to the importance of words in theatre. Maybe it’s because you have to really pay attention due to the nature of the writing, but it was beautiful nonetheless, and I nearly started using the “thy”s and “thou”s after. And I had never really appreciated the humour in the text before, probably because I was much younger when I watched the movies or read the play, but I believe Ivan Heng’s direction and the actors brought out this aspect of the play.
Following a minimalist approach to the sets, we are faced with a sloping platform that spanned and is the stage. It made the fighting sequences more exciting as the actors “flew” and slid across the stage, and at some point, I feared they would just roll off the stage altogether. I guess this minimalism also made us focused on the acting and text. However, it did warrant clamps for the roller bed which sounded a little distracting, but that couldn’t be helped for safety reasons and it’s just a minor thing. All that blood was pretty convincing too. However, it was missing at Juliet’s suicide…was it intentional or the mechanism failed for that night?
Most of the actors managed the lines well, except maybe an occasional inconsistency in the articulation by one or two actors. My friend and I felt Hansel Tan did well as Romeo, dreamy, passionate, yet desperate at times. I believe one of the more touching scenes was when Mercutio was slain and Romeo, the lover, was turned into a murderer by grief. That nearly brought tears to my eyes in Romeo’s grief-stricken speech. And Neo Swee Lin brought much laughter with her turn as Nurse. Julie Wee was sweet and feisty in her Juliet. However, the tomb scene between Romeo and Juliet felt a bit rushed over though.
I liked the finale which was like a closing march, where the slowly raised backdrop that revealed a creeping light thrown on the stage created a certain effect. The whole scene reminded me of a funeral procession. I thought that worked nicely rather than just having a blackout. It felt poetic, as all things came to an end, like the meaningless feud between the families and the conclusion of the play.
Buttons In The Bread 