TITOUDAO by Toy Factory

“Titoudao”

Reviewer: Gabriel Lim
Performance: 6 March 2015, 3pm

A street wayang show (traditional Chinese Opera performed in open stages on the streets) goes on even when it rains or even if there is only a single person admiring. For if no one wants to see, the deities would still be watching.

In this, the 5^th staging of Titoudao, we see a fresh and vibrant cast in a retelling of the trials and tribulations of Mdm Oon Ah Chiam, a street wayang artist. Despite not having seen the previous stagings, the play still impresses with new perspectives and nostalgia.

Set between the 40s and the 60s, this play follows the life of Oon (played by the talented Audrey Luo), as her father sends her to be trained as a wayang artist. She goes on to be a prominent practitioner and is best remembered for her role as the character, Titoudao. The spirit of the charismatic Titoudao livens up the stage and the play becomes alive.

Gender roles are reversed in this piece, and it is most gratifying to see how the cast handle and execute the gender-bending in their play-within-a-play. This is helped by the efforts of the makeup designer Zennie Casann and costume stylist Theresa Chan. The period in question portrays a time where sons are favoured over daughters. Yet, on a stage, all the gender differences melt away, and the practitioners revel in a space of freedom.

But are they truly free? The glamour of actors and actresses is a façade, and their happiness is ephemeral – their role is to entertain, or so the play purports. Street wayang theatre has always had reputation for being a low art form. The artists’ commitment, dedication and tears bring out the beauty and integrity of this art form.

The performance worked well with the live opera music performed by percussionist Zhuang Haining along with stunning backdrops by set designer Chris Chua. The suspended rows of colorful costumes filling the backstage of the wayang theatre, flies upwards and vanishes when the play culminates with the real Mdm Oon herself speaking directly to the audience on a bare stage.

Titoudao connects with the young and the old — it is a timeless piece of theatre.