[Happening!]Forbidden City Review: Truly Wor …
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Forbidden City Review: Truly World-class
Watching the plot of Forbidden City unfold is akin to flipping
through the pages of an evening-edition Chinese tabloid. It
really trawls out the obscure dirty laundry, but you just can't
tear your eyes away. That said, this has got to be one of the
best produced, cast and performed musicals I've seen this side
of the equator.
I've always eyed SRT's claim of "world-class theatre with an
Asian flavor" with a hint of skepticism, but I now stand a
convert - who needs Broadway classics when you've got juicy
50-years worth of untold Chinese history hidden in your own
backyard (well, almost). I dare say that we can take on the
big boys now. So long as Kit Chan takes on the lead role
forever, that is.
Forbidden City starts off promoting international sisterhood
in the most subtle of ways. Taking a little-known fact of the
Empress' life, Katherine Carl is a female American painter
invited to the Forbidden City and commissioned to paint a
portrait of the elusive empress (hence the title). There, she
meets with the none-too-warm Dragon Lady (also known as Yehenara)
and after feeding her some lines about needing to know her to
paint her (well, she is American after all - autocratic Oriental
rulers don't stand a chance), gets the ageing matriarch to
offer a verbal memoir of her life. And why? The reason given
here is because the Empress thinks that someone from halfway
around the world would be objective and hence could be trusted
to tell the truth.
Given a life so mysterious and intriguing, this adaptation
cleverly milks the Empress' life for the choicest cuts.
Infamous episodes about her apparent murder of her own son and
subsequent fight for imperial power get an airing, albeit
showing us the "alternate" version. With a somewhat feminist
slant that cannot be ignored, what binds these women are the
tales of loss and the subsequent struggle to survive.
As a musical, Forbidden City is a hit as far as music, costumes
and sets are concerned. Kit Chan shines as the young empress,
with powerful and controlled vocals that are an absolute joy
to listen to. The supporting cast strongly complements her as
well, with Blossom Lam's husky singing as the elderly Empress
particularly impressive. There seemed to be some technical
glitches at the beginning on the night I attended, as the
ensemble's sound seemed poorly balanced, but this might have
been incidental.
Otherwise, high production values carried across to the
impressive set. Deceptively simple, yet sophisticated and
effective, it was a fine-tuned effort from designer Francis
O'Connor. One memorable scene occurs when the open expanse
of palace walls with floating floor-to-ceiling curtains transform
into a closed-up prison-cell like space and the curtains are
ripped off to become bundles of possessions carried by the palace
staff as they flee. With the combination of song, lights and
movement, it was an inspired moment indeed.
The direction was kept so tight in the first half an extra
utterance of "your highness" would not have made it. The pacing
kept the excitement building up to keep you strung up through
the interval, so it was a pity when the second half started
off somewhat lagging (as evidenced by the people around me,
previously at rapt attention, starting to shift in their seats)
and only managed to pick up towards the denouement.
But that is just a minor complaint. Forbidden City, like the
Empress herself, had grand ambitions and does not disappoint.
The story intrigues while your emotions take a roller-coaster
ride as Yehenara's life unfolds. The comic duo of Hossan Leong
and Sebastian Tan (as record keepers) never fail to bring on
laughter, and most of all, the songs run through your head as
you leave.
~ Judy Tan
--
幻想你亦很想多謝你 世界有你花都更香
未知道怎麼可多謝你 令我自強
借借你那偉大能量 那怕永不可以遇上
難忘人物未忘掉已值得鼓掌
多謝芭比／彭羚 詞／林夕 曲／黎允文
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