“Christmas Comes Early”

Reviewer: Andre Theng
Performance: 27 September 2014, 8pm

I must admit that I did a double take when I read that a Christmas-themed play was being put up a good three months before Christmas. Now is not the “Christmas season,” regardless of how liberally the term is used.

Well, the good news is that Asylum Theatre’s debut performance “Holiday in my Head” is not really about Christmas – it is a series of 8 short, approximately 10-minute plays that simply have something to do with Christmas, be it where Santa Claus is a character or where the “naughty list” is mentioned. Even so, the Christmas theme is not altogether pervasive and only loosely joins the different plays together. All eight plays are written and directed by American Dean Lindquist, who (according to his website) specialises in 10-minute plays. Performed at the Drama Centre’s Black Box, the 11-day run was certainly impressive for a first outing.

The magic is in what actually links the eight plays together — a series of clever references not only to popular culture but also among the different plays, so much so that although each play was performed in isolation, there was a degree of reflexivity where each play built on the previous. I think this was the greatest achievement of the performance.

There were plays I liked more than others. I enjoyed “Finger Food” which allowed the audience to step into the minds of a fork and spoon lamenting their underuse, and the absurdist “The Joy of Solitude”, based on a Spanish play by Fernando Sorrentino. The six cast members were all excellent, especially Andrew Mowatt and Paul Lucas who flitted in and out of different roles effortlessly.

The performance was a simple affair — there were nearly no set pieces save for some tables and chairs and the rest of the magic was made up by good acting, lighting and sound effects and voice mimicry. It was an old-school, low-tech performance but the production values did not detract from the excellent scripts and actors.

Asylum is a little different from the many other newly-formed theatre companies. Where most new companies are helmed by young and passionate local students, Asylum is steered by an experienced and highly-qualified American director and playwright. I would thus expect it to take on projects beyond the scope of young student groups.

In any case, it is a promising start for a new theatre company, and exciting days for the Singapore English theatre scene, where new companies are proving to be formidable competition to the current strongholds of the theatre scene.

“If you liked it, please tell your friends…

Reviewer: Gan Soon Rui
Performance: 19 September 2014, 8pm

… But if you don’t, please tell your enemies.” announced the actor, Tim Garner at the end of the performance. Well now, isn’t this a dilemma.

The debut production by Asylum Theatre (a relatively new theatre company in Singapore), Holiday In My Head is a performance that consists of eight humourous short plays, all but one (i.e. The Joy of Solitude) are original ideas conceptualised by playwright and director Dean Lundquist.

Whimsical, nonsensical and sometimes outright dark, the production brings the audience into Lundquist’s head, as he muses upon seemingly random yet pertinent issues ranging from a clown with a fear of clowns, to a dialogue between two silverwares that feels abandoned with the increasing popularity of finger foods. Lundquist and his cast of six managed to lead the audience on a mini emotional rollercoaster, as they gasp during intense moments or laugh at the cleverly written humour, all the while leaving food for thought.

While the plays are stand-alone pieces, do watch out for Lundquist’s cheeky attempts to stitch the stories together, much to the amusement of the audience.

Considering the nature of the production, it would be very easy for the actors to drop the momentum of the performance during the many transitions. This reviewer is happy to report that the cast did not fail to deliver, as they skilfully captured and maintained the attention of the audience for the duration of the performance. In fact, props should be given, seeing as they also have to perform the roles of three different characters.

My only irk is with lighting designer, Keiran Burgess, and the decision to incorporate rapidly flashing lights into one of the scene. While I agree that it made the sequence extremely dramatic, it also had the side-effect of disorientating and distracting me from focusing on the scene. My slight headache aside, I give fair warning to those who might have photosensitive epilepsy, or are sensitive to intensive flickering of lights.

So, should I tell my friends or enemies about this production?

I guess I will just have to bury the hatchet.