“The truth is out there”

Reviewer: Christian W. Huber
Performance: 27 May 2018

Entering the cold theatre auditorium to witness a production of John Pielmeier’s Agnes of God, this reviewer is puzzled that there are only about 20 audience members in the 388-seat theatre on the final performance. But Desert Wine’s effort to perform in a more professional environment is valiant, and far more deserving of bums on seats than other amateur productions of late.

Dr. Martha Livingstone (Tan Rui Shen) is a court appointed psychiatrist determined to assess the mental stability of Sister Agnes (Lee Jie Ying), a young nun accused of killing her secret newborn child. However, Agnes denies the existence of the child and says that the police had made the whole story up. She is fiercely protected by Mother Miriam Ruth (Tanya Ang), who views Agnes as a rare innocent who is exceptionally close to God. The play goes on with wordy debates between faith and science, and makes the audience choose whose truth they want to believe.

It’s clear that the power of the script trumps all other elements, and the no-frills staging works fine for a company on a tight budget. The minimalist set features Agnes’ simple room in the nunnery on stage right and Livingstone’s office on stage left. Sound and lighting design are kept simple.

With respectable performing credits in other productions, the three actors try their best to perform in front of a sparse auditorium. Tan is too young to play a psychiatrist going through menopause, and Ang is way too young to play a Mother Superior who has grandkids, however their commitment to the piece helps bring some believability to them. Lee’s age best matches that of her character and she brings out the innocence and naivety of Agnes well in the first half, but she is not as convincing when portraying the raw, damaged, and sexually abused side of her character during the hypnosis scenes in Act Two.

An interesting directorial choice is the use of a ‘double’ for Agnes during the hypnosis scene – where Lee reenacts what had happened at the convent, while another actor playing the ‘double’ remains in the doctor’s office miming what she feels in the convent through body convulsions. It is an effective and engaging way to stage this scene, and succeeds in making this reviewer feel unsettled.

That this production has the ability to give this reviewer goosebumps shows that this mystery/thriller can still engage, and sometimes, less is more.

But that the show was only attended by a handful of people is a crying shame.

“Dinner With Friends“

Reviewer: Selina Chong
Performance: 5 August 2017

As part of Desert Wine’s Comfort Theatre Series, Donald Margulies’ Dinner with Friends was staged for two nights in August. Unfortunately, this was a dinner I would have been glad to sit out.

Firstly, the 7pm production was delayed due to technical problems. These were not resolved in time, and the dialogue kept cutting off whenever the microphones malfunctioned. Adding to the frustration is the fact the venue was cosy enough for the performers to go off-mic.

I am also disappointed in the one-dimensionality of the players in this production, since the work is known for how much its character discovers about themselves and each other as it goes on. The acting, too, leaves much to be desired. Matilda Chua’s over-the-top portrayal of the self-centred Karen is insufferable. In one terrifically awkward scene, Tushar Ismail’s Gabe and Aizuddiin Nasser’s Tom could not decide whether to greet each other with a handshake or a hug as they lunge towards each other in an uncoordinated fashion. There is little chemistry between the actors and it often feels like they are talking at each other, rather than to each other.

I was torn between feeling sorry and feeling embarrassed throughout the experience. On the one hand, it’s a pity that Margulies’ Pulitzer Prize winning play was not seen by more people; on the other, thank goodness it was just a handful of us who witnessed this hot mess.

While I encourage Desert Wine to continue pursuing their passion for theatre, I hope they will polish their skills so they can present the best of themselves onstage.

“An understated Emily”

Reviewer: Meera Nair
Performance: 16 July 2016

Emily of Emerald Hill gets the nomadic treatment in Desert Wine’s production as it roams from non-traditional venues like community centres to traditional venues like Goodman Arts Centre. While each venue will bring with it a different experience, the one constant is the performance.

It is reassuring that the high point of this production is Laura Kee’s performance as Emily. Despite being much too young for the role, she still manages to convince us that she has lived far more than her years. Emily experiences success, loss, grief, and even humiliation. Yet she remains logical and focused at times of crisis, for instance, being a good wife in the face of her husband’s infidelity so that she would, in the eyes of society, remain blameless.

In performing this role, Kee demonstrates a familiarity with the Peranakan culture that is at the core of Emily Gan. She switches effortlessly between English, Malay and Hokkein, and exhibits the body language befitting of a woman who has the grace of a traditional Peranakan woman. She is tireless as the perfect host and narrator, attending to each and every guest and making everyone (including us) feel welcome. Throughout her performance, Kee makes good use of the stage’s space, despite the set occupying a relatively small portion of it. In fact, the set is not at all as stripped down as promised. While there are no elaborate sets or lighting and multimedia enhancements, the stage still contains two wicker chairs, a wooden screen, and table with smaller items like a telephone and glasses, making for a decent set.

The Emily that Kee creates is a woman of quiet determination. She manipulates through emotional blackmail and tries to control much of what goes on around her, but her character is neither loud nor showy. Visually, Emily’s sarong kebaya is the only indicator of her Peranakan heritage; she wears no jewellery and her hair is done up in a simple bun. Her clothes are in shades of red – while bright, they do not scream for attention.

We may hate Emily for the way she exploits the people around her to achieve her own ends. Yet as we witness her story unfolding and her subsequent fall from grace, we begin to truly appreciate her fortitude in making the best of her circumstances through the only means available to her. This Emily may not be the loud, over-bearing Peranakan matriarch that we have come to imagine, but she is just as powerful in an understated way.

As a monologue, Emily of Emerald Hill is perhaps easier to manage for a nomadic performance. Given that this is the first of a series of productions that Desert Wine’s Comfort Theatre aims to stage in the heartlands, it would be interesting to see if strong performances can be coaxed out of ensembles as this would add more variability to each performance.

“A classic Singapore story in the heartlands”

Reviewer: Alisa Maya Ravindran
Performance: 25 June 2016

Desert Wine’s production of Stella Con’s classic, Emily of Emerald Hill, brings theatre right into of the heartlands. The showing is at the Bukit Panjang Community Centre, with a small stage and intimate crowd. This monodrama stars Laura Kee as Emily, and as an actor she is young. Despite her age, she plays the role of a gossipy, power-hungry nonya convincingly. Emily’s journey at first seems like a classic rags-to-riches tale, but in the end is a tale of desperation, loss and family.  Emily is an enigmatic figure and until the end, one never knows for sure if she understands that her overbearing nature is what pushes all her family away from her. Kee sustains the audience’s attention throughout the one-woman show with her spot-on mannerisms and speech patterns that animates her character. Kee also pulls off the code-switching well. The disparity in the way that Emily addresses foreigners and society people and her servants is comedic. Yet, it is also a poignant reminder of class differences, and how easy it is for one to forget their humbler beginnings.

In the final analysis, Desert Wine’s rendition of Emily of Emerald Hill is an apt choice for a theatre production in the heartlands, as it addresses concerns central to the development of Singapore. Emily’s is a story that is quintessentially Singaporean; it is about dreams, ambition, family and struggling to figure out how they all work together. Despite the simple set and less-than-spectacular lights and sounds, Kee’s performance remains impressive.