[Business Times] Beautiful feast for the eyes and ears
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Published August 13, 2010
Beautiful feast for the eyes and ears
By NATALIE KOH
THE audience was plunged into darkness, making it seem as though there was
nothing but pin-drop silence for company. Then, the sound of rain came in. A
slight drizzle at first, before it grew into the roar of a heavy downpour and
the curtains opened, revealing a gorgeous, slanted set, which proved to be
highly useful in the later scenes.
Unwavering: The play's script was peppered with cheesy quotes but all the
artistes delivered their lines with conviction The gala performance of Toy
Factory's December Rains last Friday night was, in a word, beautiful.
Act One shows a young romance foiled by parental disapproval, political
tension, wasted dreams and the breakdown in communication; Act Two
fastforwards 30 years and shows how the failed romance had adversely affected
the parties involved, namely the lovers - Li Qing (Kit Chan) and Ying Xiong
(George Chan) - and their close friend Ming Li (Jeffrey Low).
Though the script was peppered with cheesy quotes, the unwavering cast
delivered their lines with conviction. Kit Chan's voice, unsurprisingly,
wowed the audience from the very first song she sang until the end of the
show, and George Chan was perfectly convincing both as an idealistic youth
and a world-weary man.
But the one who stole the show was Low, with his tearjerking portrayal as the
loyal friend haunted by a mistake for decades. His performance as a
victimised character evoked empathy and managed to draw a few sniffles from
the audience in the last scene.
Director Goh Boon Teck managed great usage of the stage space and lighting,
using spotlights to highlight stances and opinions that certain characters
had. To represent rain, a recurring motif, Goh made creative use of string
curtains, which passed off surprisingly well as rainfall.
The musical was visually endearing throughout, but one scene is worth
commendable mention and that is when Ming Li stood singing in front of a line
of string curtains while a body double performed a lyrical dance behind. At
one point, the two stood diagonally across each other, turning the curtains
into a mirror, and the entire stage set into a dance studio.
Set design by Eucien Chia helped in this, of course, as the slanted pillars
made the set versatile and timeless, suitable for any setting in both acts.
This, together with the apt costume designs by Lai Chan and the artistic
direction of Goh, made the entire production a feast for the eyes.
Even the music was well-written and well-executed so that the soundtrack
would be worth listening to if you missed the show.
However, the dance moves in the first act could have been sharper, as the
dancers didn't quite portray the determination of students brave enough to
participate in a riot.
But what makes a production worth watching is that it leaves a mark on the
audience, which is exactly what December Rains managed to do. The theme of
the show revolves around love and wasted time, and when it ended, the
audience walked away feeling reflective about their lives and youth.
'December Rains' is on until Aug 15, but with only single seats left. Tickets
are available at $69 to $129 at Sistic
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