UPSTREAM by The Theatre Practice

C42 Admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 06:07:22 +0000

“The Struggle to Look Back”

Reviewer: Sam Kee
Performance: 16 October 2015

Before one can move on, you need to sort out the clutter, tie up the loose ends and clear out the contents of your soul that have been weighing you down. It is a timely challenge Liu Xiaoyi has given his fellow collaborators in The Practice Lab to examine the clutter in their lives before they move on. That is done in conjunction with The Theatre Practice (TTP) moving on and out of their current site at Stamford Arts Centre.

Upstream takes the form of 11 monologues (divided into 2 groups, performed on alternate nights). They are composed of selected life events that resonate a theme significant to the performer. Tonight, I am watching 6 of the artists take the stage to confess their past traumas, struggles and regrets. What sets these narrative-performative works apart from a typical confession at a shopaholic support group? The answer lies in the dramatic composition.

Zee Wong first sets up a mysterious relationship between her and an inanimate object – a pensive bowl of water. I squirm while she unpicks her stitches, reopens her wounds and become vulnerable to the judgements of the audience. But as she drones on about the blemishes in her life, the engagement with the audience slowly wears off. Zee eventually reveals her black, painted palms, but her interaction with the prop comes albeit a little too late. Seconds before the light goes out, we see her reaching out to the bowl. Is she going to clean her tainted palms? Can she wash off the blemishes? Is she willing to get rid of those memories? Or perhaps, she just wants to throw the bowl of water away and carry on with her life.

On the other hand, actor Ric Liu decides to use his prop to its fullest potential. The white wooden chair, a signature feature in many TTP experimental shows, now acts as Ric’s pregnant mother, stairs, escape route and the sea. Although I feel that some parts of the monologue may have been overly animated, Ric has sequenced a good selection of events in a non-linear way. There are a few clever stitching of seemingly non-sequitar events. He then revisits the events leading up to his birth, and wraps up by re-enacting the close shave his mother had with a miscarriage. Ric questions his existence, and I think he still does not have an answer.

The most complete dramatic piece is presented by Felix Hung. She explores her difficult relationship with her father. It plays out as an analogy of the complex ties between Hong Kong, its colonial master, the United Kingdom, and with China. Felix deals with the topic of death and anguish wittily, using a comedic monologue. In presenting her stories to the audience, Felix takes on several roles, including a caricature of a talk show hostess. The act seems characteristic of Felix’s usual self – bubbly, whimsical and humorous. But beneath this strong and cheerful facet, lies her insecurities. Perhaps that is why she chooses to examine her self from a third person’s point of view.

Essentially, we must realise that some traumas become committed to muscle memory – they cannot be forgotten or forgiven, like how you will never forget how to ride a bike. The struggles make us who we are, and we simply must find a way to move on. In a way, Upstream can be likened to a forum theatre. This experimental series allows audience to gain access to the performers and realise that artistes, too, are of flesh and blood.

Do you have an opinion or comment about this post? Email us at info@centre42.sg.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

UPSTREAM by The Theatre Practice
[The Practice Lab Production] 14- 24 October 2015
Stamford Arts Centre

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Sam Kee is currently helming the literary and visual arts section at artsrepublic.sg while putting her major in Mathematics to good use at an educational publishing house.

UPSTREAM by The Theatre Practice

C42 Admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:01:59 +0000

“Challenged!”

Reviewer: Beverly Yuen
Performance: 14 October 2015

In Upstream, eleven monologues based on personal stories emerged from The Practice Lab, a branch of The Theatre Practice helmed by Liu Xiaoyi which aims at discovering new methodologies and ways of theatre making. I watched six of them, presented by the Group A cast- Darren Guo, Felix Hung Chit-Wah, Lee Qian Yu, Neo Hai Bin, Ric Liu and Zee Wong.

Under The Practice Lab, the cast had gone through the process of experimentation, devising, creating, writing and directing their own monologues, mentored by Liu Xiaoyi. This is indeed a praiseworthy approach to groom talents and explore new methods to present creative works.

Neo explores the tension between personal belief and family expectations through constant reference to one of the Chinese gods, Tua Pek kong which his family worships. Throughout his performance which takes place in the dark, the audience can only see his face and shadow through the use of LED candle light that is shone on his face. He creates a private space that cautiously and progressively reveals his innermost stories, which we secretly peep. Through the effective use of tone and expressions, he is able to engage me in his personal stories which cover his experience in National Service and relationships with the family.

Lee creates an acting proposition which questions the elements of theatre with repetitive lines. One such line is “My seniors once told me: ‘Qian Yu, a good story must have tension’”. While not having overt dramatic elements in her script, she has ironically created a strong sense of absurdity and tension with the seemingly simple and uninteresting lines. The piece takes a humorous peek at the meaninglessness and yet seemingly important facets of life.

Guo uses elements of Chinese face reading to introduce his stories about life in Singapore and Taiwan. His piece brings audience to focus on his face features captured by an iPhone and then projected on a monitor. Through the intensity emitted from his projected facial expressions which are at times distorted, he toys with the subject of illusions and realities in the piece.

Wong, Hung and Liu have taken bold steps in crafting their personal and intimate stories in the monologues which divulge their history of hurt, idiocy and struggle. However, Wong’s deliberate enunciation of lines and Hung’s technical handling of Mandarin texts create distance and formality that alienates the audience from the emotions. While Liu demonstrates a good control of his physical body while relating his stories through movements, his actions become exaggerated and mimicry at times.

Do you have an opinion or comment about this post? Email us at info@centre42.sg.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

UPSTREAM by The Theatre Practice
[The Practice Lab Production] 14- 24 October 2015
Stamford Arts Centre

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Beverly Yuen is an arts practitioner, and co-/founder of Theatre OX and In Source Theatre. She keeps a blog at beverly-films-events.blogspot.sg.

Centre 42 » Upstream

UPSTREAM by The Theatre Practice

“The Struggle to Look Back”

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

UPSTREAM by The Theatre Practice

“Challenged!”

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

ABOUT THE REVIEWER