“Souvenir“

Reviewer: Jocelyn Chng
Performance: 22 September 2018

Souvenir tells the story of an unlikely diva, based on a real-life personality – Florence Foster Jenkins – whose fame derives from her apparent inability to sing in tune. Before this production by Sing’theatre, I had only known of the 2016 movie, Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. The movie is compelling largely due to the portrayal of the touching yet complicated relationship between Jenkins (Streep) and her husband (Grant). Souvenir by playwright Stephen Temperley, on the other hand, is centred on Jenkins and her accompanist, Cosme McMoon.

While the impressions of Jenkins’ character conveyed by both the movie and this play are similar, having the story told through McMoon’s eyes in Souvenir gives things a slightly different perspective. It zooms out from the focus on Jenkins, her motives and her unique personality. This play’s strength is in its presentation of a non-romantic relationship that is complex, intriguing, and opens up difficult questions – about friendship, loyalty, ethics and so on.

A two-character full-length play is always demanding on the performers, and with this play there are added challenges: the actor playing McMoon has to be able to play the piano (well); and the actor playing Jenkins must be able to sing (badly). Hossan Leong and Leigh McDonald, in the respective roles, do step up to these challenges admirably on the whole.

McDonald’s experience in musical theatre (having performed on the West End and in several Singaporean musical productions) is apparent in her overall carriage. She convincingly conveys both Jenkins’ earnestness and innocence as a person, as well as her kitschy over-the-top performances during her recitals. A downside to McDonald’s performance, however, is that she is not entirely believable towards the end as an ailing 60-year-old.

Nevertheless, her deliberate, consistently out-of-tune vocal performances do warrant particular mention. And while the use of slapstick humour as a device gets tiresome as a after a while, it is impressive that McDonald carries the performance through with such commitment. This is especially apparent in Act 2, which dramatises Jenkins’ Carnegie Hall performance with a series of arias, which McDonald performs splendidly “badly”.

Leong’s performance is somewhat less secure overall, with a Singaporean accent sometimes slipping in amidst his New York accent. At points the comic timing can also be more precise. But the stories of both McMoon and Jenkins are not all fun and joy. In fact it is quite the opposite, where much of the humour in the play actually veils darker, crueller ironies in the characters’ lives. More sensitivity to these aspects would make the performance more nuanced.

To what extent do talent and aesthetic standards matter in a performance? In a somewhat convenient, but perhaps necessary, ending, the lights go down on McDonald performing an “ideal” (in-tune) rendition of Gounod’s “Ave Maria”, as I am left pondering the dichotomy between passion and good intentions on the one hand, and talent and aesthetic “quality” on the other.

“Geriatric Romp“

Reviewer: Isaac Tan
Performance: 12 October 2017

In his review of Forever Young, staged by Nottingham Playhouse, The Guardian‘s critic Alfred Hickling mentioned that “the format of the show takes a bit of getting used to” as there is very little dialogue and narrative. Instead, it is a show set in a retirement home for actors who try to relive their heyday, and come to terms with aging through a series of appropriated popular songs.

This will not be a problem for fans of Sing’Theatre as, in its 10th year, it has carved out a niche for staging musical revues. But apart from celebrating this milestone, one wonders why the company chooses to stage this show, as director Hossan Leong admits in the programme notes that it is “difficult to digest” and “convoluted” when he first encountered it.

Sure, it is a geriatric romp and fans of the cast (Hossan Leong, Candice de Rozario, Ebi Shankara, Julian Wong, Karen Tan, Tan Kheng Hua) will relish either seeing them portray an arthritic caricature of themselves or, in Candice de Rozario’s case, a no-nonsense nurse trying to keep her unruly charges in line.

Additionally, those unfamiliar with the singing abilities of the actors will be surprised at how well the harmonies and harmnonising take off. Furthermore, industry insiders or frequent theatregoers will smile at the various references to performers and past shows.

Despite all that, and the general mirth it brings, the novelty does not last the entire duration of the show.

Also, given Sing’Theatre’s ability to present the songs of Edith Piaf or Jacques Brel in such a way that either compels one to relook at the meaning of the songs or sheds light on a lesser known aspect of the performers’ lives, Forever Young is a downer. The popular songs are merely thematically appropriate, and the lyrics of those songs do not add new meaning within the context of the show.

Sing’Theatre, with its French connections, has always looked abroad in their choice of shows to stage. Perhaps, once in a while, it should let its creative team device a show on their own. This reviewer has no doubt that the cast will be able to come up with a much better show based on popular songs rather than being trapped by the parameters set by Swiss writer, Erik Gedeon.

“Simplicity is Bliss”

Reviewer: Jeremiah Choy
Performance: 2 June 2016

There is too much complication in this world and for a while I thought simplicity is dead, especially in theatre these days. But I am proven wrong when I watched SingTheatre’s Jacques Brel is Alive & Well & Living in Paris.

I must confess I am no Jacques Brel fan, nor have I heard of him until recently. But I am curious about SingTheatre restaging of this music revue and of course, I am a George Chan fan through various collaborations over the years.

As Director, Choreographer and Cast Member, Chan surprises me yet again. His self-assured, simple yet elegant staging of this production is chic and refreshing.

The very competent cast of Frances Lee, Matt Jasper, Stephanie Van Driesen and Chan himself is a delight to the ears, either as solos, duets, trios and as a whole ensemble. Lee’s rendition of Funeral Tango is on the money – witty and a tinge of wickedness. Van Driessen enchants with many solos but shows off her musical acting chops in the animated Timid Frieda. I can definitely see why she is the leading lady of the Malaysian musical theatre scene and I hope that she comes over this side of the Causeway to appear more often.

Flipping through many roles and characters, Jasper entertains with his confident and self-assured ways. He delivers each song with such earnestness, telling stories through songs. I enjoy his Amsterdam most. Chan takes on some of the juicier numbers and moves: he prances and claims the stage in Jackie, working the stage and the audience into a slight frenzy.

It is a courageous and brave vision to keep the production simple. It is so “Parisian” chic.

Although there is no direct narrative or “story line”, the music revue brings us a slice of life in Paris through the lens of Jacques Brel’s sardonic yet descriptive lyrics. The restraint in production design (lights, sound, set, costumes) allows the audience to re-imagine Brel’ stories and insightful commentaries.

Joel Nah’s (music director) simple yet ample orchestration of four musicians not only accompanies the songs, but narrates the cultural vignettes through appropriate music references. Genevieve Peck Jing Yi’s (lighter designer) lighting is evocative and Shah Tahir’s (sound engineer) sensitive sound engineering is perfect.

Yes, there is nothing spectacular or innovative or even groundbreaking about this production. But I walk away engaged, refreshed and inspired to find out more about Jacques Brel.