Saturday, December 7, 2013

蛇,不在外头,就在心中-- 观看优剧场的《金刚心》

        这是我在这博客的第一个以中文书写的篇章吧!我是优剧场的戏迷。但,这不代表我盲目地热爱他们的每一出戏。六年前,我就曾经对优剧场的走向感到失望, 在《禅武不二》剧评中提问-优人的本来面目在哪里?(文尾附上《禅武不二》剧评)

        2003, 在新加坡的一个很小间的影片光碟专卖店发现了《金刚心》,便马上把它买下。 单单观看光碟, 就有无名的感动。一知道优剧场将到新加坡演出《金刚心》,心里急切的期待。但,因为对《禅武不二》有点失望, 心想--这次别期望太高, 以免失望极大。去了一趟观看演出,它不止唤醒我似乎已疲累的身心,也再次肯定了我要为艺术工作继续耕耘的决心。

     台上的设计看上去象是我们的高楼组屋。鼓声响起, 把我们带进了隐藏在急步都市生活的一颗宁静之心。但,这宁静的心不是死板板的。 就是在心静了下来观看世界时, 世界的每一花每一草才变得更加的有趣。所以, 优人击的鼓是充满变化的,就如人生无常。其中一面舞台看上去象一面旧式老钟,似乎在代表着时光的流逝和世间轮回。

 
        
    戏开场的汹涌鼓声就已十分的震撼。当中的木鱼声有画龙点睛的作用,一开场就把观众带到一个很高的意境。接下来的篇章, 都持续着可动可静,静中带动,动中带静的击鼓、颂唱和舞动。 武术、诵经、舞蹈都融入于优人的击鼓表演。与其说是优人在打鼓,我却感受到鼓是自然地从优人的一举一动中体现出来的。鼓声是由优人身体的运作和武(舞)术而发出。戏的最高境界在于-- 优人不在“打”鼓;鼓声由身而出。
     渐渐的,戏把观众带进一种梦境的感觉。台上的舞蹈带着太极的张力,使出绵绵不绝的力量。优人们的身体动作就象是当我们做梦时,想跑却跑不快的那种有弹性的移动方式,把我带进了梦境。这刻让我想起了弘一法师的《世梦》:

却来观世间,犹如梦中事。人生自少而壮,自壮而老,自老而死。俄入胞胎,俄出胞胎,又入又出无穷已。生不知来,死不知去,蒙蒙然,冥冥然,千生万劫不自 知,非真梦欤?枕上片时春梦中,行尽江南数千里。今贪名利,梯出航海,岂必枕上尔!庄生梦蝴蝶,孔子梦周公,梦时固是梦,醒时何非梦?旷大劫来,一时一刻 皆梦中。破尽无明,大觉能仁。如是乃为梦醒汉,如是乃名无上尊
    
      戏的高潮是“拔草寻蛇篇”。这是一段非常美丽和富有意义的一篇。 十个鼓手在台的右边,七个敲击乐手在左台,加上台中三位男表演者,当中以黄志群为寻蛇人。所有二十人在台上的节奏配合得天衣无缝,但同时,每个人却有着自己流程的变化。 有规律却形成机械式的表演不难遇到。优人却做得到有规律却又变化无穷的演出,令人赞叹!黄持着棍子寻蛇,这棍看上去由他内在力量而舞动。 这棍,已成为表演者身体的延伸。黄向四周寻蛇,但最后发现--蛇,就在心中!对我而言,这蛇代表了佛教里的三毒--贪、嗔、痴。这三毒都不在体外,而是在我们的内心!

     戏的末尾, 台上只留着一优人在旋转着。 也许,在人生旅途的最后一个阶段,路-- 还是得一个人走的。。。

     话说回来,《金刚心》虽取材于藏传佛教,它的艺术境界远超宗教意识。非佛教徒可别因为这出戏的浓厚宗教色彩而错过了它。整出戏编得很有诗意,很有味也很富有生命力。给我带来最大的震撼是它的各个突然群体停顿的时刻。 静止,其实也是一个音符。美中不足的是-- 每个静止的时刻都让观众的掌声盖过。但,这也不能怪观众的“自然”反应。优人的舞、武、唱、鼓,是太完美了。

    我又在一次见证了优人的“本来面目”。感恩。 谢谢。

         如果想看《金刚心》,今晚 (十二月七日)将是最后一晚了:http://thestar.sg/events/event/45-u-theatre-meeting-with-bodhisattva

剧评指数:9.5/10



六年前给于《禅武不二》的剧评 (取自《联合早报》,20073 10日):







Friday, August 9, 2013

Not a fan of National Day Parade, but NDP 13... is different

I have to confess I am not a fan of National Day Parade (NDP). To me, NDP has always been about visual presentations, which were attractive, but similar to the multi-cultural and colorful Chingay Parade or the large-scale shows performed at various places of interests. However, as I watched this year's NDP, I was impressed by its strong coherency and depth in the articulation of the 9 segments.

The theme of "Many Stories...One Singapore" was delivered in a concrete and focused manner with the engagement of Singaporeans from diverse sectors. Though there were no gigantic set and props as compared to the NDP of previous years, this year's NDP touched my heart and stirred my mind. The best moment of the event was the paying of tribute to our National athletes and paralympians.

With the advancement in technology, it is not difficult for us to encounter big productions with stunning visuals that attract our attention. However, some of these large-scale performances engaged our senses but left us cold in our heart. NDP 2013 was seemingly humbler in its scenic and visual presentations, but it filled my heart with a deep sense of warmth and gratitude. Overall, it was simple but filled with insights; it conveyed a huge idea formed by stories of Singaporeans from all walks of life.


(photo: National Day Parade, Singapore, 2013)

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Impressions: RE: Looking at RE: Gina


Photo: Event's publicity photo


Re: Looking at Re: Gina

A Site-specific Dance Performance (18 May 2013)

RE: Looking at RE: Gina is conceptualized by Elizabeth de Roza and Melissa Quek. To me, the piece is about forgotten memories, fluidity of identities and the search of the "self". The following words summed up my impressions of the performance: Blood, Red, Face-to-face, Struggles, Dolls, Nails, Memories, Manipulation, Constructions, Reconstructions, Entrapment, Escape.



I thoroughly enjoyed the interactive, fun and creative elements in the performance. I liked the movable set which gave me the feeling of being set in a maze. At the same time, I felt that I was also one of the dancers in the space as the movable maze "danced" us around. We had to be alert and keep moving with the performers and the set. The fluidity of the set and the interactions within the space created an organic universe in the theatre. The performers were focused and skillful in executing their inner emotions and physical actions. The musician did a great job in providing the soundscape which was filled with tensions and emotions, which developed the action of the piece.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Leaping into a Jungian Journey: Preview of Leaping Fish in the City (21-22 March 2013)

Preview: 20 March 2013

A woman who embarks on a research to find out more about the city she is living in and a man who is eccentric, but throws one or two lines of wise words at moments least expected, sustained the 45-minute Leaping Fish in the City with humorous moments.
 
To me, it's a very Jungian piece, where the woman encounters the shadow, animus and Self aspects within her. According to the psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung (1990), the shadow consists of the dark elements of the personality with emotional and primitive aspects that resist moral control; the animus is the masculine aspect that a woman experiences; and the Self archetype is often a spiritual character with knowledge, insight, wisdom, cleverness and intuition, represented by a wise old man. To Jung (1964), the shadow in each individual represents the hidden, repressed and unfavorable aspects of the personality.

In the performance, the peculiar man, who does not behave within the boundary of a commonly accepted social behavioral convention, is a reflection of the woman’s inner shadow that she is rejecting and repressing. At the same time, the man is also the wise Self within the woman, which is represented by her inner voices that she hears at some points of time despite her hectic lifestyle.


After rejecting and ignoring the shadow and inner silence within her for the majority of her adult life, the woman eventually embraces the animus and accepts the shadow within her. She finally stops and listens to her heart, and starts to understand who she is. 

Dates: Thursday 21 March (SOLD OUT), Friday 22 March (Limited tickets available)
Admission: $18/$12 (concession) available from The Substation box office (63377800) 
Time & Venue: 8pm,  The Substation Gallery (45 Armenian Street, S179936).



References:

Jung, C.G. (1964). Approaching the Unconscious.In C.G. Jung (ed.). Man and His 
            Symbols (pp.1-94).  London: Aldus Books.

Jung, C.G. (1990). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious(R.F.C. Hull, 
            Trans). NJ: Princeton University Press (Originally published 1963).