In search of Hana: Expectations, notions and practice of theatre

Hana (3-4 April 2018)

by NUS Theatre Studies Theatre Lab
Venue: UCC Theatre

What is your expectation of a “theatre”? Is there a way to view theatre? The notion of theatre has been challenged throughout history. This is not the first time that “theatre” is questioned. 

However, what makes Hana of value in today’s context?

Hana is theatre, and yet it is beyond theatre.

While the dramaturgy of Hana could be done more coherently, is logical coherency the only means to measure a good piece of watchable theatre?

What about the coherence of organicity displayed by the performers?

While it could be difficult to follow the “story” of Hana with a logical mind, it was not difficult to ride on the natural flow of the organic bodies and voice work demonstrated by the craftsmen (the performers).

The craftsmen experimented, interrogated and challenged their state of being within the theatre space in search of “hana”— which means the flower of youth of a performer in Japanese theatre. In the process of confronting their craftsmanship as well as texts from the predecessors of the theatre, organicity of each craftsman was illustrated with unique individual characteristics within a synergized ensemble work. The performers were especially unison in their voice work and their texts filled the theatre space with mastery in projection, articulation and richness in vocalics.

Audience interactions which took place in the piece were unforced and natural. The invocation of the audience to view theatre with different perspectives was established in the beginning of the journey of the search.  As an audience, I rode on the breath of the performers, from one to the next, and was carried through the waves of encountering and confronting the age-long subject of “theatre” in an in-depth and truthful manner.

It reminded me of the following words of theatre master Peter Brook:

“The purpose of theatre is… making an event in which a group of fragments are suddenly brought together… in a community which, by the natural laws that make every community, gradually breaks up… At certain moments this fragmented world comes together and for a certain time it can rediscover the marvel of organic life. The marvel of being one.”

Hana was presented by students of NUS Theatre Studies under the module “Theatre Lab” led by Ang Gey Pin, with the aim of providing a practice-based and experiential learning as their key mode of study. While the final product might not comprise the conventional elements of a “finished work”, it was no doubt a precious experiential reflective and learning path for both the audience and the students.

An "A" Production- Artistic, Amusing and Adept! (Review of Monkey Goes West)

"The cross-cultural and cross-gender casting is hilarious and effective. Siti Khalijah Zainal, who cross-dresses as Sandy, brings a dynamic comic and hip upbeat depiction of this traditionally down-to-earth character. Siti Khalijah also plays the Chinese goddess Guan Yin with a motherly disposition. Chua Enlai plays Auntie Fanny and Princess Iron Fan who mispronounce words incessantly to rib-tickling effect.

Joshua Lim plays a school boy who is mistaken as the monk Tang Xuan Zang by the Monkey King (Sugie Phua), Pigsy (Frances Lee) and Sandy. He interacts with the audience and engages both adults and children with aplomb. He is the charismatic crowd-pleaser of the evening! Phua plays the Monkey King with his agile movements, and sings in the midst of vigorous movements which requires skillful execution of breath, rhythm and emotions simultaneously.

(...)

Monkey Goes West is a must-watch production for anyone who is looking for an evening of extravaganza with a dip in the arts. This is a production artistically, amusingly and adeptly created for Singaporeans of all ages."

Full review can be found here: http://centre42.sg/monkey-goes-west-by-wild-rice-2/
 

Reimagining History of the Holocaust

My review of

Starring Hitler As Jekyll And Hyde by The Finger Players

"The frequent shadow play by Lim is intriguing with the actors performing in stylised and puppet-like movements, and providing narratives that drive the plot behind a white screen. Behind the screen, Julius Foo effectively adopts a sarcastic tone and pitch as Mrs Stevenson, the elegant and arrogant art critic who finds fault in Jekyll’s art works to comic effect. In other scenes, he also plays the commissioner with impeccable comic timing in his interactions with the other officers, providing comic relief to the serious theme.

Edith Podesta plays Eva Braun, a blind art sponsor, with a depth of charged emotions. She delivers her crafty lines with a keen ear for the rhythms inherent in them.

While Starring Hitler as Jekyll and Hyde is a witty script superimposed on the contemporary political and social state of Singapore, it ultimately feels like we are presented with an art lesson articulating the key discourses from the art history."

Full review can be found here: http://centre42.sg/starring-hitler-as-jekyll-and-hyde-by-the-finger-players/
 

The Malay Man and His Chinese Father by Akulah Bimbo Sakti (A Review)

"In this staging, the Chinese father (Michael Tan) and Malay son (Yazid Jalil) are played by the same actors as the first. However, one prominent element which is missing is Asnida Daud vocally accentuating the helpless states of the characters, and suggesting the presence of the wife’s “ghost”. The presence of this “ghost” throws the contrast in ethnicity into sharper relief.

While the character development and psychological narrative of the father and son are much more detailed and layered in this realistic rendering, the contrasting ethnicity is downplayed in this staging. Nonetheless, I am not suggesting this piece is any less enjoyable.

I savour this work with disconcerting relish. The speechless and cyclic representation of life reminds me of film director’s Tsai Ming-liang’s Vive L’Amour. But this show is much more repressed and dysfunctional, as the world of the father and son is contained within a two-room flat."

Full review can be found here: http://centre42.sg/the-malay-man-and-his-chinese-father-by-akulah-bimbo-sakti/