“More Transformation Needed”

Reviewer: Andre Joseph Theng
Performance: 7 February 2015

In the days preceding the play, I contemplated the title of the production – “Circle Mirror Transformation“. I struggled to make heads or tails of what this not-quite-grammatical title can possibly mean. So I set out to discover the reason for the rather cryptic title.

I guess it kind of made sense: the circle referred to the circle they were constantly in during the class and the mirror is a metaphor for self-reflection, resulting in “transformation”.

Pangdemonium begins its new season with an Annie Baker’s script, a play about four misfits who attend an acting class at a Community Centre, taught by Marty, a misfit herself, played by Neo Swee Lin. In the course of the two-hour intermission-less play spanning six weeks, the characters (played by Adrian Pang, Selma Alkaff, Nikki Muller and Daniel Jenkins) reveal snippets about their lives, their pain and their insecurities.

The greatest joy about the play is the memories of drama class exercises; walking around the classroom and trying to stop together and those dubious exercises that don’t seem to have anything to do with acting. Indeed, this is echoed when Alkaff’s character, Lauren asks Marty if they are going to do be doing any “real acting”.

There is nothing particularly bad about Circle Mirror Transformation, but nothing exceptional either. My feeling is that it has been let down (once again, just as Fat Pig was) by a lacklustre script. Firstly it is set in a small-town in Vermont, USA and fairly removed from the average local audience member. The series of far-fetched coincidences and their resultant ‘cathartic transformation’ fall short due to undeveloped characters.

That is not to say that Pangdemonium did not a good job with the production; and the acting was commendable. There is a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Newcomer Alkaff puts in the best performance, appearing natural in her character’s awkwardness and providing much of the comedy in the production. I commend Pangdemonium for giving fresh arts graduate their first break.

The Wong Chee Wai set is excellent. At first glance it is merely a sterile and generic room with white walls and fluorescent lights. On closer inspection, one discovers the many wonderful details built into the set. The walls are not perfectly white, but feature water stains as if the ceiling was leaky. The false perspective was a nice touch as well, and a notice-board on one side was not rectangular but followed the lines of the ceiling.

After watching a production, I like to look up what people are saying about it online and on social media. Predictably, most people ‘loved it’ and everyone seems to have had a good night out. While this is obviously not a scientific survey of popular opinion, or of the production’s quality, I think that the Singapore theatre scene is big enough to give plays like Circle Mirror Transformation some space – unexceptional and not particularly memorable, but good enough for a few laughs, and some ‘life lessons’, all resulting in a pleasant night out.

“Circle Sans Transformation”

Reviewer: Isaac Tan
Performance: 29 January 2015

If Circle Mirror Transformation is, as Adrian and Tracie Pang put it, a “love letter to the transformative power of theatre,” it is a forgettable epistle that is overindulgent and filled with sweet nothings.

Four characters join an acting class and in the course of going through an assortment of theatre exercises, they reveal their backstories and vulnerabilities.

Naturally, all of them emerge from the class changed — for better or worse.

That is all well and good but playwright Annie Baker uses the acting exercises as a mere device to gouge these secrets and backstories out into the open.

The acting process is a vulnerable one: it allows and asks the actor to discover more about himself/herself. However, any self-respecting acting teacher would manage this process carefully and not overwhelm the students. Moreover, even if the exercises require the actor to reveal something personal, no one — unless duly intoxicated — will risk revealing secrets that may jeopardise his/her personal relationships.

Predictably, the backstories of the characters are the usual crop of failed relationships and bad childhoods with very minor variations. This reviewer would have preferred to observe an actual acting masterclass with believably real people’s drama unfolding (if it comes to that) in the process.

The repetitions of the acting exercises added nothing to the choppy rhythms of the show. Some scenes were far too long and the energy level dipped while others were too fast and truncated whatever that could’ve been developed further.

The actor’s incessant exiting and entering the studio during every scene transition was unnecessary and pointless. However, the cast had chemistry and I enjoy watching them ‘spar’ with one another using side glances, gestures, and whispers that indicate off-studio conversations.

Noteworthy performance include Adrian Pang as the awkward Schultz, Nikki Muller as the enthusiastic Theresa , and Daniel Jenkins as James. Neo Swee Lin did great as Marty, the hippie acting coach and James’ wife. However, her inconsistent accent is distracting. Selma Alkaff gives a good professional debut but she is prone to the occasional overacting.

Certainly, the comic timing and the funny moments in the play were great to behold. The ending also scored some brownie points but all that is just not enough for me.

This show is a little funny, a little touching, and a little poignant. But like sweet nothings casually whispered, they are brief pleasure and nothing more.