RED SKY by Nine Years Theatre

“The Zen of One Breath”

Reviewer: Jeremiah Choy
Performance: 22 October 2016

It is not often that you are mesmerized by a single silent moment in theatre. In Red Sky, I am spellbound by one such single moment, not once, but thrice.

Once when the entire cast puts on sunglasses to stare at the summer sun towards the end of the first half of the production, the second when the same cast stares at the autumn red sky in the second half.

Both times, the cast stands, still, with abated breath. For me, the moment summarizes both the frailty of human beings and the resilience of being a human. An eternity (almost) of my own flashbacks and questions about getting old go and dying through my mind. Questions of theatre, techniques and tactics. And how appropriate they are to living and the art of living.

How often do we take notice of  the youthful breath of the blazing sun (instead of complaining its temperature), or the soft caressing breeze of the red sunset (instead of lamenting we have no time)? How often do we stop at a single moment to marvel at these ordinary miracles?

Red Sky deals with the issues of aging and death. But for me, it deals with living and being alive.

The pitch perfect casting by director Nelson Chia (of Johnny Ng, Yan Shi Bin, Elena Chia Choo Sian, Lim Poey Huang, Liow Shi Suen, Goh Guat Kian, Tay Kong Hui and Henry Lau) makes this production an epic. The credits of each one of them could have filled many pages of who’s who in theatre in Singapore.

Every single character is played with dedication, passion and ease, the last quality of which is seldom found on stage. Each story is a story waiting to be told, each breath looking to behold.

Poignant, passionate and powerful.

The “younger” ensemble (of Mia Chia, Hang Qian Chou, Neo Hai Bin, Timothy Wan and Tan Yuyang Ellison) is not overshadowed by the veterans – they hold their own strongly. From being the silent kurogo to the multiple characters of children and care givers, they support and supplemented the plots with subdued finesse.

Director Nelson Chia makes a brave decision to go with a simple “empty” stage. It allows the different stories of the old occupants of the nursing home to unfold and to breathe into the scenes. Each breath, each beat is different. In turns, the stories take on different dimensions (such as quick and quirky; sadistic and sad) at the same time.

But it was the last breath that had me thinking for the longest time.

It is when Mdm Tan holds on to Old Kim and asks him to let go. Between life and death, it is only one breath, she says, one last breath. And peacefully, he takes his last breath and leaves.

The simplicity of this one last breath is the ultimate in acting. For me it sums up the many years of training, experience and trust an actor has in his craft. And the director has in his cast.

That is theatre: a single moment that will last a very long time in my mind.