Friday, March 28, 2008

Clark in Sarajevo
LASALLE BA (Hons) Acting Programme
Reviewer: Kenneth Kwok
28/03/2008

Clark started off strongly with both the playwright Catherine Zimdahl and the director Steven Rassios showing much creativity in the way the situation in war-torn Sarajevo was being presented on a bare stage: besides the use of poetry and physical theatre, for example, most interesting was the risky choice of using humour as the play’s foundation. The second half, however, lacked the coherence of the first and disintegrated into a shaky series of vignettes that did not really build towards the impactful final scene (which saw the actors lighting a rectangle of fire around themselves along the borders of the stage). Even the surreal sight of Jesus as Wonder Woman singing 80s ballad Eternal Flame with a bevy of backing singers and dancers at one point which should have made you sit up and take notice felt a little contrived and not really well thought through. The production was meant as a showcase for LASALLE’s first cohort of BA (Hons) Acting graduates and, in that regard, however, Clark was a resounding success. Led by a charming performance by Crispian Chan as the bumbling reporter Clark Cant investigating the troubles in Sarajevo, the ensemble cast of actors impressed with their confidence, clarity and commitment to their various roles with Rayann Condy as a prostitute with a heart of gold the obvious standout (special mention also goes to the precision of Emanorwatty Saleh’s dramatic soundscape). It is a pity that only one of the cast was Singaporean as, judging by the quality of tonight’s performances, our local students are missing out on a real opportunity for quality training through LASALLE’s BA (Hons) Acting programme under Edith Podesta.

***1/2

This first impressions review first appeared on The Flying Inkpot and has been archived here for posterity.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Death and Rebirth - NUS Lit Nite

Life, love and drama serials. This reading explores how temporal most things are in our lives
and how new beginnings are just around the corner, just when we think things - as we know it have ended.

I didn't write that blurb, so I can't apologise for it. Anyhoo, that's the theme for the next reading I'm part of: part of the NUS Arts Festival, to be held this Sunday evening.

Details are as follows:

·
Date of event: Sunday, 23 March 2008
· Time of event: 6pm – 6.45pm
· Duration of event: 45 min (10 min reading)
· Venue: Theatre Foyer, University Cultural Centre, NUS

Also reading with me are David Leo and Shi Min.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

QLRS reviews last boy

Finally.
Thanks, Aaron Lee.

Read Heartland of Myths and Alter Egos here.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Theatre Idols – Finals
Action Theatre
Reviewer: Ng Yi-Sheng
17/3/08
Esplanade Concert Hall


What a surprise – out of nowhere, young playwrights Jacke Chye and Christine Sim have appeared wielding remarkably solid scripts at this competition for new Singapore plays. Better still, their plays are completely different creatures, and both rather good: Chye's Catching Adam Cheng is a cute, feel-good comedy about four women escaping from their old folks' home to catch an Adam Cheng concert, with well-drawn characters, strong motivations and good pacing, while Sim's Numb is a mad Sarah Kane-esque psychodrama of sex, sadism and alienation, centred around the character of a surgeon who finds she is slowly losing her sense of touch. Both writers fall into the trap of spouting platitudes, and a whole lot of deadweight's had to be shed between the first reading and this presentation. But it's clear that the theatre writing scene has two new faces to contend with. Let's hope they stick it out. (Since you're curious: Catching Adam Cheng won the audience's vote, but if you ask me, it's the more dangerous Numb that brings something fresh to the table. And it bleeds.) (Oh yes, and acting-wise Jeremy Lee got the audience award, but if you ask me it was Esther Yap whose comic and psychotic roles really carried the day. I just gotta be contrary.)


***1/2

This first impressions review first appeared on The Flying Inkpot and has been archived here for posterity.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

I Has A New Book!

And it lookz lyk dis:


Itz mai commisshunned book 4 ACS (Indiependunt)! Da tytle iz "On His Wings: ...soaring twenty years on", it costs $25ive dollarz, and dere is evun a foto of me insidez! L00k!!!1!!


Plz commisshun me 4 more stuf kthxbye.

And for all you ACS boys out there, Happy Founders' Day. Oldham Dauntless Hero didn't come for nuthin', yknow.