[ChannelNewsAsia]December Rains An entertaining wet season
(才看過的2張劇照)
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/reviews/view/1074789/1/.html
By Han Wei Chou | Posted: 12 August 2010 1447 hrs
SINGAPORE: Toy Factory recently restaged the 1996 theatre production
"December Rains" as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations.
Now, it is no easy task to restage a 1996 production that portray events
which happened in the 50s and 60s in 2010, but Toy Factory manages to pull it
off.
Directed by Goh Boon Teck and written by acclaimed local writer Liang Wen
Fook, "December Rains" tells the story of a pair of star-crossed lovers, rich
girl Li Qing (Kit Chan) and revolutionary guy Ying Xiong (George Chan), who
separate when their mutual friend Ming Li (Jeffrey Low) fails to deliver a
crucial letter from Li Qing.
Their pain and suffering is passed on to their next generation when Li Qing's
daughter Meng Yu (Judee Tan) falls in love with Ying Xiong's adopted son Yang
Guang (Zachary Goh) but is forbidden to see him due to her mother's conflict
with Ying Xiong.
The storyline reminds me a lot of the Taiwan Qiong Yao melodramas in the
early 90s that feature tragic heroines and feels a little cliched, but the
show was enjoyable on the whole.
It also wouldn't hurt to spend a tad more time exploring how Li Qing and Ying
Xiong fell in love, instead of having Li Qing become instantly attracted to
Ying Xiong at school purely based on what her classmates tell her about him.
The stage design is very inventive, with layers of nylon ropes that serve to
simulate the rain as well as act as a translucent 'curtain' in other scenes
of the show.
Used in that way, the device manages to draw the audience's attention to the
characters in front of the rope 'curtain', while still allowing them to see
the dancers who perform behind it and add visual interest to the scene.
While international thespian George Chan, who had done big productions like
"Miss Saigon" and singer-actress Kit Chan, who had starred in hit musicals
like "Snow Wolf Lake", headline this production, it is Low who steals the
show.
He manages to convey the emotional conflicts that confront Ming Li very well
through his body language and facial expressions, which also fleshed out his
character and made it believable.
Still, it is undeniable that the biggest draw of the show is probably Kit
Chan, whose appearance in "December Rains" marks her return to showbiz after
a 19-month stint with a PR company.
Her beguiling voice brings each verse of the songs she performed in the
musical to life and elicited thunderous applause every time she sang. The
only problem is that she is perhaps a little too good.
Whenever she sings with the rest of the cast, such as her character's duet
with her daughter Meng Yu (Tan), her prowess as a singer shines through,
'spoiling the market' for the other cast members who are also no slouches in
the singing department.
But all in all, the good outweighs the bad in "December Rains", with
audiences treated to two and a half hours of good acting, great singing from
Kit Chan and her fellow cast members as well as some hauntingly beautiful
music from Liang Wern Fook and singer-songwriter Jimmy Ye.
When I met Toy Factory's head and "December Rains" director Goh Boon Teck
just before the show, he told me that he felt lucky to have been able to keep
working on theatre, his passion, and hoped that Toy Factory will see another
20 years.
If the genuinely entertaining "December Rains" is anything to go by, it
should be a simple task for the theatre company to keep going till it turns
40.
"December Rains" runs from August 6-15 at the Esplanade Theatre. Tickets are
available via SISTIC.
- CNA
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