Staged in
a little shop house in Geylang, Show Off 3 promised the audience
a night of great entertainment. And judging from the loud applause after
the play, I'm certain the audience enjoyed themselves. Three short plays
were on the programme for the night: Only the Lonely, Tub
and Bits.
Only the Lonely was a play about three women from three different
backgrounds and how each dealt with her loneliness. Written and directed
by Alin Mosbit, the play intended to present an intimate study of loneliness
in some everyday lives.
The roles of the three women were played by Malti Lalwani, Heryanti
Ramlan and Christina Chelliah. Lalwani played the part of Madu, an Indian
woman whose husband has died and left her to raise their son in a foreign
land. Heryanti played an Indonesian maid who is constantly watched by
her employers but soon finds out that she is pregnant with the child
of her Bangladeshi boyfriend and feels lost without the comfort of her
family. Chelliah was Angie, a housewife whose husband rarely spends
time with her due to his work.
The set for Only the Lonely was simple. No fancy props, just
a keyboard, a basin of laundry and a pot of curry. This minimal setup
created a morose atmosphere suited to the theme of the play and its
appropriateness raised my expectations to a high level. I expected thought-provoking
questions to be raised and refreshing and unique insights into the notion
of loneliness to be presented. To my disappointment, this was not to
be. Only the Lonely turned out to be a bland and unmoving play
about the sad life stories of three women. The plot, which was not ambitious,
told the audience things they already knew. For instance, the idea of
being surrounded by a "sea of people" yet feeling lonely was echoed
in some parts of the play. Despite the actors' commendable performances,
(especially Chelliah for capturing the frustration and sorrow felt by
a neglected housewife) the play was dragged down by poor and unimaginative
writing.
The next piece, Tub, written and directed by Faith Lew, was
about a man, (Rodney Oliveiro) who seeks privacy and solace in the comfort
of his own washroom. His life has been a trying one: he has no luck
with the opposite sex, he is haunted by memories of his mother's death,
he is always having to clean up after his younger sister. Oliveiro managed
to capture the insecurity and helplessness felt by his character, a
man who desperately wants to fit in and to please everyone around him.
The role demanded boundless energy as the character goes through countless
mood swings - fractious one moment and manic the next. His performance
tickled the audience but at the same time, struck a chord as they witnessed
Oliveiro's character dealing with the depressing memories of his mother
and his childhood days. Displaying a great understanding of the personality
and desires of his character, Oliveiro's performance was undoubtedly
the highlight of the night.
After Only the Lonely and Tub, Faith Lew and her
male partner, silenced the crowd with their enchanting and abstract
performance, Bits. Dressed in black, with black paint on their
faces and arms, the two used strong body language to depict the emotions
felt by people in their darkest moments. The duo swayed, leapt and stomped
to the rhythm of the music. One could feel the raw, almost sexual energy
between the both of them. Lew and her partner managed to tell a story
with their body movements. For instance, as Lew was tugging on her partner's
arm, he remained rooted to the spot - a symbol of mankind's constant
but useless battle to keep loved ones close forever. As Lew admitted
after the performance, Bits had received much attention from
the audience due to the "extreme" nature of the piece. It
was a provocative and animalistic performance that had everyone staring
and holding their breaths till the very end.
Explore talents. Create original work. Present an avenue for budding
theatre enthusiasts. These were the three main aims of Show Off
3 . All in all, the show was an excellent attempt to do just that.
Perhaps it could have started on a stronger note if Only the Lonely
had been more than a mere relation of sob stories, but as Meat Loaf
once sang, "Two out of three ain't bad". |
"The play may have started off on a poor note but as Meat Loaf
once sang, 'Two out of three ain't bad'"
Previous Productions by FaithWorks
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