Joel Tan is one lucky guy. Mentored by one of the best wordsmiths in town in Huzir Sulaiman, having his first-ever play shaped by one of the sharpest directors in Glen Goei and seeing it brought to life onstage by a cast led by Lim Kay Siu and Karen Tan – at a very important festival at that.

And he didn’t let them down. Family Outing is an impressive debut.

A freak accident involving a household appliance spoils, to put it mildly, a young man’s plan to formally out himself to his devout Christian family. His soul hovers over everyone as, on his first death anniversary, there’s a knock on the door. His “friend” decides to introduce himself to the family. The fun begins.

(Hmmm, interesting parallelisms to Nadirah at the black box venue upstairs, which dealt with firm believers of Islam, had more or less the same dining/living room set-up, brought up football-as-metaphor, Cat Stevens, and yes, the “friend” thing. Here, you had tennis.)

Anyway.

Family Outing is by no means a masterpiece, but what it does it does well. It never overreaches – even when it experiments with flashbacks and tries its had at going slightly “meta” – in handling its themes. Homosexuality and Christianity are uneasy bedmates. You’d think making them headbutt in a single play would turn this into a bloody gladiatorial spectacle. (Woohoo! Mixed metaphors alert!)

Instead, Tan goes the way of dramedy, extremely funny and deeply moving.

Tan’s rookie gig reveals a playwright who’s as witty as they come. Joseph relates how his new life began with a click and a spark, a sharp pause before wryly adding: “the same way it ended.”

And there’s a lot more of these snappy asides and quips that give the play its crackling energy.

But more importantly, here’s someone who can craft characters that pop out as all-too-human with their frailties and quirks, as exemplified the two stand-out performances of the show.

Witness the in-denial mother (one of Tan’s best supporting role performances I’ve seen) who grapples with the shocking news by ironing clothes. Or the silent, gruff and hilariously tactless father (ditto Lim) interrogating boyfriend Daniel.

“Was Joseph good in bed?”

Brilliant.

(Young actor Johannes Hadi, who plays younger brother Brandon, is also someone to look out for. His overly intense performance in Young & W!ld’s recent staging of Swordfish + Concubine seemed out of place but he’s right at home here.)

In Family Outing, Tan has written a heartfelt and solid little play that serves as his very own coming out party in the world of local theatre.

And in a scene that’s in short supply of new blood, that’s very good news indeed.

Amen? Amen.

(It’s on until Sunday. Details here.)

Source: http://blogs.todayonline.com/forartssake/2011/08/20/s%E2%80%99pore-theatre-fest-2011-welcome-to-the-family/

Hear what opening night audiences had to say about Nadirah. Directed by Zizi Azah, written by Alfian Sa'at and presented by Teater Ekamatra as part of the Man Singapore Theatre Festival 2011.

Hear what opening night audiences had to say about Family Outing. Directed by Glen Goei, written by Joel Tan and produced by W!LD RICE as part of the Man Singapore Theatre Festival 2011.

Don't miss this production! Ends this Sunday 21 August!

“Mommy has a new friend.” Ack!

Think about it. Your mother tells you she’s dating someone. Nevermind that she’s divorced, you’re already 20 and have got very little attachment to your estranged father. You’re Muslim. Your mom is, too. But the boyfriend’s Christian. Tension galore!

I’m glad I finally caught this award-winning Teater Ekamatra piece. When I told a friend I liked Pariah – the second Yasmin Ahmad “tribute” play by Alfian Sa’at – he said Nadirah was (much? even?) better.

It does seem more cohesive. Granted it was a restaging with the same cast and director (Zizi Azah Abdul Majid), but it does feel more comfortable in its own skin and less rough around the edges. Less heavy-handed perhaps and more subtle in pursuing its topical agenda (which is not to say in-your-face and OTT isn’t effective), in its deft handling of religious issues, Nadirah’s heart shines through clearly.

The titular character (whose name references the Muslim name of Maria Hertogh, the Dutch child at the centre of the racial riots of 1950) finds out her mother and a Christian man plan a civil wedding. Nadirah’s fellow Malay Muslim friends, a liberal woman and a conservative guy, act as sounding board as she grapples with the situation.

Unlike Cooling Off Day, which some might say was more of an exercise in reportage, we’re in full view of Alfian’s writing flair, in particular, his knack for the some of the funniest lines you don’t get until, like, two seconds later. And dude, you get plus points from this football fan for milking the Liverpool vs. Man Utd metaphor for all its worth to explain the rivalry between two religions.

The cast’s uniformly steady performance made this such a pleasure to watch and yours truly was particularly drawn to Shida Mahadi as Nadirah’s happy-go-lucky best friend and, most of all, Neo Swee Lin, who provided us with the play’s emotional pivot with her wonderfully sensitive turn as the mother.

(Nadirah is, erm, sold out. Ack!)

Source: http://blogs.todayonline.com/forartssake/2011/08/18/s%E2%80%99pore-theatre-fest-2011-nadirahs-moms-got-a-boyfriend/

Hear what audiences had to say about This Is Home? by Drama Box. A Forum Theatre performance as part of the Man Singapore Theatre Festival 2011.

Watch the trailer for Family Outing - A new comedy about love, life and family that opens this Wednesday at the Drama Centre. 7 Shows Only! Get your tickets soon!

Nadirah begins its sold-out run on Wednesday, 17 August.

Hear a little about the play from playwright Alfian Sa'at and Director Zizi Azah.

Winner, Best Original Script, Alfian Sa'at
Winner, Best Supporting Actress, Neo Swee Lin
Best Actress (Nomination), Siti Khalijah Zainal
The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards 2010

Cooling Off Day is a certified goosebump moment.

And I don’t even hold a pink IC!

Okay, now that that’s out in the open, anyone who thinks non-Singaporeans shouldn’t make any comments dealing with GE 2011 because it’s none of their business can skip this post and wait for the next one.

It’s about, erm, art.

Back to COD.

***

Unlike that pre-voting moment the play takes its title from, a single day where every prospective voter could theoretically compose him/herself before ticking the boxes and “rationally” deciding on their future leaders, COD feels like it was served fresh and piping hot from the oven (or straight from the horse’s mouth, take your pick).

Despite being staged months after GE 2011, it maintains a sense of urgency, a play caught up in the heat of the moment that wants to be heard now, now, now.

And that is what makes it all the more potent (which is not to take away from other equally powerful works that have been afforded a longer gestation period). The subject matter’s very specificity of time and place, the current context outside of the arguably neutral space of theatre enlarges the work to the point that it becomes more than just a play.

All the more so because it’s a play with the firm imprint of voices other than playwright Alfian Sa’at. In fact, the voices are so loud and multifaceted (although some might argue it’s skewed towards a certain train of thought) that it’s practically a babel.

Comprised of an array of monologues from Alfian’s interviews with various people pre- and post-GE2011, COD gushes forth with little restraint as it touches upon not just thoughts regarding the elections but those that seemingly have nothing to do with it.

Repressed sexuality as a metaphor for the act of voting? The cuteness factor of Malay boys from the East compared to those from the West? How PM Lee looks like Allan Wu? It’s all there sandwiched between more serious points about the HDB’s racial quota and Teo Soh Lung’s heartbreaking account about her incarceration during Operation Spectrum in the late `80s.

From makciks, students, sex workers and taxi drivers to Vincent Wijeysingha and Xia Xue, COD is a veritable coffeeshop of ideas. It’s also interesting to note just how pivotal the online universe has proved to be – Alfian taps into it judiciously, staging a hilarious podcast by Mr Brown and reenacting a familiar Youtube video of a woman totally enamoured by Chiam See Tong.

Some reviewers have questioned COD’s unwieldy nature, describing it as tedious and calling for some of its “fat” to be trimmed. I’m not so sure. I kind of liked its all-over-the-place feel. The sensation of wading through a sea of clashing voices, of going through the highs and lows of emotions, from anger to sadness to asthma-inducing hilarity. “Zeitgeist” came up a lot during the months leading up to the festival. Well, here ya go.

And mega-props to the six performers – Jo Kukathas (who co-directed with Ivan Heng), Neo Swee Lin, Rodney Oliveiro, Tan Kheng Hua, Peter Sau and Najib Soiman – who looked very much like they were enjoying themselves as much as the audience as they brought to life the different characters, in particular, Sau and Najib’s humorous turns.

I’m not sure if you can still get tickets to the remaining shows, but do try to watch COD if you can (or you can drop by at the forum titled On Politics — A Brave New World? this afternoon, 5.30pm, at the Drama Centre Foyer).

But if you miss it, then I urge W!ld Rice to restage this ASAP.

Or heck, maybe after five years? I’m damn curious what happens then, when GE 2016 comes up.

Source: http://blogs.todayonline.com/forartssake/2011/08/13/spore-theatre-fest-2011-cooling-off-gets-the-hot-vote/