Unkers@TheTheatre - Turandot

It was perhaps a poignant reminder.

That we live in a world where Skinny rules and Fatties have to suck in the adipose and accept that, however talented they may be, their svelte brethren will always take the louder applause.



I just got back from catching the Singapore Lyric Opera's interpretation of Puccini's Turandot at the Esplanade. It is perhaps their biggest and most opulent production to date, compared to Madama Butterfly (2005), Le Nozze di Figaro (2006), Il Barbiere di Siviglia (2007) and La Traviata (2008).

Of course everyone was there for more or less one Aria, the dramatic tenor of Calaf's Nessun Dorma in Act III, Scene I. And although China-born Tao Weilong's Calaf was certainly not disappointing, the late Luciano P. would be pleased to know that he alone holds the key to what must be the most hummable operatic tune to date.

But back to the Fatty issue.

Two sopranos were slated to take the starring role of Princess Turandot, each alternating for every evenings' performance. I suppose those high notes really take a toil on your vocal chords. We got Kim Young-Ae, a Voice major of the Seoul National University. Young-Ae sings beautifully and she has performed the role of Turandot to critical acclaim extensively. Unfortunately, she came across more like a Queen than a Princess. A Princess whose hand in marriage Princes the world over have come to ask with much trepidation.

Young-Ae, you see, is more Lard than Lithe. My partner remarked that perhaps her size gave her a bigger diaphragm and lungs to hit those high notes (alot of good singers are on the big side, consider most recently Paul Potts, who incidentally has a popular rendition of Nessun Dorma as well). But I was too distracted by the Baby Elephant on stage, and I still wonder why SLO Director Lo King-man chose to have such a fatty play a icy-cold and desirable Princess. It certainly spoilt it for me, Big Time (no pun intended!).

So when the opera came to an end, and the cast took turns, one by one, to stand at the edge of the stage to receive the Clapped Accolades from the audience, the loudest applause and Bravos were reserved for pretty and petite Filipina, Rachelle Gerodias instead. Rachelle having played the role of Liu, the young slave girl secretly in love with Calaf.

I felt bad for Young-Ae afterwards. But someone please tell her to take out the Ex-cess before becoming a Prin-cess.

Otherwise, an excellent evening out at the Theatre.

None Shall Sleep! None Shall Sleep!

Ahh Turandot.

Puccini's opera of an evil Chinese Princess who beheads her prospective suitors who come from faraway if they cannot answer three of her riddles.

However, Calaf has correctly answered the trio of questions put to all of Turandot's would-be Princes. She, however, recoils at the thought of marriage. Calaf then offers her a challenge to guess his name before dawn. If she does, she can execute him. But if she does not, she must marry him. The icy-cold princess then decrees that none of her subjects are to sleep that night until his name is discovered. If they fail, they will all be killed.

The final act opens and it is night. Calaf is alone in the moonlit palace gardens. In the distance he hears Turandot's servants proclaiming her command. His aria begins with an echo of their cry and a reflection on the Princess...



Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma! Tu pure, o Principessa, nella tua fredda stanza, guardi le stelle che tremano d'amore, e di speranza!
(None shall sleep! None shall sleep! Even you, o Princess, in your cold bedroom, watch the stars that tremble with love and with hope)

Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me; il nome mio nessun saprà! No, No! Sulla tua bocca lo dirò quando la luce splenderà!
(But my secret is hidden within me; none will know my name! No, no! On your mouth I will say it when the light shines!)

Ed il mio bacio scioglierà il silenzio che ti fa mia!
(And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!)

Il nome suo nessun saprà... E noi dovrem, ahimè, morir, morir!
(No one will know his name... and we will have to, alas, die, die!)

Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! Tramontate, stelle! All'alba vincerò! Vincerò! Vincerò!
(Vanish, o night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At daybreak I shall win! I shall win! I shall win)

Unkers@TheTheatre - How The Other Half Loves

We found ourselves in the middle of Hwa Chong Institution's Bukit Timah campus last night, inside a Drama Centre filled with the cream of Singapore's adolescent intelligentsia, watching a play put up by the school's drama group, that would perhaps make our country's doyen of theatre, Ivan Heng, proud.



I must admit that I didn't know what to expect when Alex called to ask if I was interested to support her sister who was involved in the production. My childish notion of teenage theatre harks back to the old days when the idea of a staged presentation was a couple of awkward, arty outcasts doing an equally amateurish interpretation of anything cliched-Shakespearean.

But I confess now, that I was suitably impressed with last night's show by the kids. Even if I have never heard of How The Other Half Loves, much less the Playwright, Sir Alan Ayckbourne. Here's a brief sypnopsis I lifted off from somewhere in Cyberspace.

How The Other Half Loves concerns three couples: Frank and Fiona Foster; Bob and Teresa Phillips; William and Mary Featherstone. Frank employs both Bob and William and is considering promoting the latter. Bob is having an affair with Frank’s wife Fiona and is in constant conflict with his own wife, Teresa. She feels Bob is neglecting her while she raises their baby and is suspicious of his actions and phantom phone-calls made to the house. When he returns late, she confronts him about his actions and he lies that he has been comforting work associate William, who believes his wife Mary is having an affair.
Frank and Fiona’s relationship is in stark contrast to the torrid emotions of Bob and Teresa’s. They share a polite, distant and evasive relationship and when Frank asks Fiona where she has also been, she says she has been comforting Mary - who she barely knows - who apparently believes William is having an affair. Of course, William and Mary are innocent parties and neither of the adulterers realise they have both implicated the Featherstones in their alibis. Both parties swear their partners to secrecy - particularly as both couples are entertaining the Featherstones on successive nights.

It was not an easy plot to juggle. Adult themes with lots of sexual innuendo and a single set representing overlapping living rooms, with parallel action in the different households acted simultaneously. But the teenage cast handled it with much aplomb. My only grouse was that not everyone could carry off the heavy British accent properly. Kudos for the effort though. Because having the play in Singlish would have been even more disturbing.

And of course we felt like a couple of old farts inside the drama centre. I had a Nanyang girl, who could not have been older than 15, next to me, giggling throughout at any hint of naughty banter.

We came out of the play thinking to ourselves, indeed, intellectually, we've been surpassed by the younger generation because, like hell we could have come up with something like that back in the good old days! LOL.

Cow-ture

It was pretty much an eye-opening weekend at the Theatre and Movies for me. A touch of Cow-ture, like what some friends of mine say in jest.

On Friday, I went to catch Ng Khee Jin's Feet Unbound at the Picturehouse. He's a Singaporean Chinese director based in Perth.



Shot documentary-style, Feet Unbound re-visits the much mythologised Long March by the Red Army in China between 1934 and 1937. In particular, Khee Jin focusses on the survivors from the Lady's Regiment within the Red Army through the eyes of a real-life Beijing journalist called Elly. Very few survivors have lived to tell the tale as it was one of the longest and largest mobilizations in human history. Barely 30,000 of the 200,000 soldiers who joined the Long March survived to the end.

Surrounded by Kuomintang troops of Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek, the Red Army abandoned base camps in central China and split into two to retreat to Shaanxi in the north and Xinjang in the west. During the arduous and hasty retreat, the Western Front army was almost completely annihilated by a Muslim warlord, General Mu of Qinghai, an ally of the Kuomintang. But a handful survived, among them women.

Khee Jin managed to track down six of these survivors, visibly very tough old ladies, some of them in their eighties and nineties, to listen to their version of events. His documentary traces the tragic fate of these old women in a military fiasco rarely recounted in Chinese history.

I loved it. Not only for the stunning vistas of the Tibetan Plateau and rugged beauty of Sichuan province where most of the movie was shot. But also because the film made me delve deeper into Communism in China and appreciate why China would never give up its claim on Kuomintang- ruled Taiwan. More so when you consider what early Communist Party pioneers like Mao Zedong had to go through to secure Socialist glory for the 'Capitalist-infested' Motherland.



And then it was off to the theatre yesterday. To catch TNT Theatre Britain's interpretation of Hamlet.



TNT's version is perhaps a little unique because it takes inspiration from the 1st Quato, an early edition of the Master's works, and so is significantly much shorter (about 2.5 hours). The folio edition of Hamlet can run on stage for 4-5 hours!

Some scholastic quarters believe that the 1st Quato was what Shakespeare had in mind for the stage. And perhaps the only version he ever saw physically being acted out.

Overall a very, very sterling performance from the cast and crew of the TNT. Hamlet was not over-interpreted to the point of it becoming ridiculous. In fact, for Shakespeare, I think the Brit actors still do it best. Its like, well, in their gene pool to be able to rattle off in the typical Shakespearean way.

Unkers@TheTheatre - The PillowMan

Friends said it was fantastic.

It ended its run to rave reviews in New York and London. And this was its encore performance because it was also very well received in Singapore last December.



But I didn't count on the Singapore Repertory Theatre's, The Pillowman, being a butt-crunching 3.5 hours long. I mean someone warned me it would be lengthy but not THIS lengthy! And since I'm still quite numbed (backside and all) by the experience, I shall let SISTIC give you a synopsis of this play by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh.

With the twists of a thriller, and the twisted logic of a horror film, The Pillowman is darkly funny and surprisingly poignant. Katurian, a writer of terrifying short stories, has been newly imprisoned and is questioned by the police, who scale new heights of brutality - and black humour - with their version of the good cop/bad cop mind game. Along the way, the reasons for the storyteller's capture are revealed in a viciously entertaining cat-and-mouse game that has you on the edge of your seat.

Which isn't saying very much and still doesn't do justice to the dark humor and psychological thriller-esque mood of the entire production.

But its a seriously intelligent play. Frequent shocking morbidity and sometimes tiring soliloquies aside. Strongly fronted by an able cast of Adrian Pang (Tupolski), Michael Corbidge (Michal), Daniel Jenkins (Katurian) and Shane Mardjuki (Ariel) who would, collectively, perhaps do Singapore Theatre proud even on Broadway.

We enjoyed abit of mental stimulation on a Saturday evening.

A trifle disturbing really, but good creepy fun nonetheless, especially when they played RadioHead during the intermission.

Unkers@TheTheatre - Shanghai Blues

We thought that the pomp and pageantry of post-war Shanghai would do our usually boring CNY a little good.

Considering that it was also an excellent excuse to absent ourselves from any more family dinners and mahjongs and what nots. And this being a Cheena musical would, I suppose, be a little fitting for the festivities. Incidentally, this year's River HongBao Extravaganza (read gaudy funfair) was just across the road from where the Esplanade was, at the Memorial Park.



Shanghai, circa 1940s. Wen Cong (William So) is a young man who joins the Chinese Army in its war with Japan and returns to his home city as a musician seeking his fortune eight years after he saved the life of a stranger, Tu Yun (Mindee Ong). Amidst the conflict, Dan Lei (Emma Yong) comes to Shanghai to earn a living but ends up bunking in with Tu Yun. Like a chinois Menage a Trois, both women subsequently fall for him, plunging all three of them into a complicated relationship.



I have but one word for Shanghai Blues, Emma Yong. Ok that's technically 2 words. The lass can really sing, and in Mandarin to boot. This same girl who does Shakespeare, the Dim Sum Dollies, Mainstream as well as Experimental Theatre, with equal aplomp. Is there any stage role she cannot do? My impression of this very talented lady has just gone up a notch. And to think that William So (he of the slicked-back hair and glasses fame) is no shabby singer himself. But the man is a professional Warbler lah. Although his debut transition from Concerts/MTVs to the theatre stage was pretty slick if you ask me. Like his hair.

Mindee Ong (oh my Mindee, my waifish, elfin-like little Mindee) was a dissappointment though, on 2 counts. Firstly, try as she might, there was simply no stage gravitas. No presence. She's fine as an Ah Lian in 881 but as a Cabaret Songbird in sequinned cheongsams, sorry, no-go. Secondly, and perhaps more tragically, she sang off-key on several occasions. Poor girl. You could hear the earnestness in her voice but sadly, it was just no match for some of the beautifully soaring vocals needed for many of the melodies.

Written by acclaimed Hong Kong playwright Raymond To and directed by Toy Factory's Chief Artistic Director Goh Boon Teck, Shanghai Blues was still, overall, immensely watchable.

Although sometimes I think the romantism of the Shanghai genre has been milked for all its worth.

Unkers@TheTheatre - Beauty World

Cha Cha Cha!

That song from the musical is so god-damn addictive, it rings in your head hours after the final curtain has come down.



This is Wild Rice's remake of the Michael Chiang cult classic of 1988. And on this, its 20th Anniversary, Director Ivan Heng has added a few new scenes to spice things up abit. Plus our very own baba Andrew Lloyd Webber, Dick Lee, has composed 6 new songs to add to the already very catchy repertoire.

Well I must say I didn't catch this 20 years ago. Not when it had its 2nd run in 1992, or toured Japan in 1994, or had itself turned into a TV show for the President's Star Charity in 1998. But better late than never I suppose because really, we have something to be proud of in this very local-flavoured production.



Beauty World is a story about Ivy Tan Poh Choo (newcomer Elena Wang), an orphan from Batu Pahat, who discovers that a Jade pendant given to her as a child may hold the secret to the whereabouts of her Father in Singapore. So she uproots herself and makes her way to the eponymous Beauty World cabaret, where she endears herself to the resident Mummy (Neo Swee Lin), steps on the toes of the Chief Pussy (Denise Tan), gets an extreme makeover (quite pretty this Elena) and falls in love with Ah Hock, the bouncer (Daren Tan). Ivy's nerdy boyfriend Frankie Wong (Dwayne Tan) comes looking for her from Batu Pahat and has to grapple with the shocking revelation that his girlfriend has turned into a Cha Cha Cha girl.

Its all rather campy really. But in good fun. The sets were gorgeous, the singing certainly above par and most of all, it was something home-grown which made it all that much sweeter.

I'll much rather spend some good money on local theatre than watch a masked caped-crusader terrorise an opera singer in some angmo production.

Bravo guys, well done!

Unkers@TheTheater - Blithe Spirit

I just got back from this, at the Drama Centre. Good Seats. We paid for the privilege of sitting 5 rows from the stage.



Well with a cast reading like a Who's Who of local theatre, I suppose Lim Kay Siu, Neo Swee Lin, Tan Kheng Hua, Selena Tan, Gerald Chew, Pam Oei and Celine Rosa Tan gave a good account of themselves. And they were directed by Singapore's own highly acclaimed Madame Butterfly 'herself', Glen Goei. Plus this was staged by WILD R!CE, a theatre group artistically managed by Ivan Heng, who needs no introduction really. The fella has almost reached Doyen status in the local Arts circle.

Anyway Blithe Spirit is a 1941 play by British playwright Noel Coward. I'm too sleepy to give you a run-down of the synopsis so shall just lift it off W!LD RICE's webby...

Desperately seeking inspiration for his new book, Charles Koh (Lim Kay Siu) a novelist invites the flamboyant Madame Arcati (Selena Tan) to perform a séance in his Bukit Timah bungalow. But he gets much more than he bargains for when the mischievous ghost of his first wife Elvira (Tan Kheng Hua) materialises and proceeds to wreak havoc on his relationship with his current wife, Ruth (Neo Swee Lin).

Together with their highly strung maid Edith (Pam Oei) and their friends Dr. & Mrs. Quek (Gerald Chew, Celine Rosa Tan), the Kohs face the challenge of taming Elvira’s blithe spirit in a comedy that literally brings the house down!

Excellent stuff from old birds Kay Siu and his wife Swee Lin. A walk in the park really with all those witty, typically British-but-modified-to-suit-Singlish, lines they had to shoot off. Kheng Hua milked her Elvira to the hilt with so much zany pontianak seductiveness, it was a joy watching her prance from corner to corner. And what can I say about the Obese Oracle Selena. The Dim Sum Dolly was simply hilarious as Madame Arcati with a slight Parking Warden makcik accent.

Overall an enjoyable evening out at the theatre. Pity the Drama Centre, itself a suitably cozy venue, had to be located within what we thought was a very new but sterile National Library.

And oh, they had a soundtrack taken from the Ole' Blue Eyes collection ;)