Cheak Hong Ian
Who knew that dramatized readings could be this good?
The preliminaries of script-writing competition THEATREiDOLS 2008 held at ACTION Theatre’s The Room Upstairs from Mar 4 to 5 saw tales of love, hate, manipulation, humour, death and lust being brought to life by some familiar figures in the local theatre scene, like actor Timothy Nga.
The readings were directed by Life! Theatre Awards Best Director nominee Loretta Chan, based on various scripts written by independent Singaporean playwrights and plays from ACTION Theatre’s Playwriting Spa.
2 plays were read each night to a live audience, with the more popular play (determined via SMS voting) being chosen to enter the finals.
The Stories Read
On Mar 4, the 2 plays pitted against each other were media marketing professional Jacke Chye’s Catching Adam Cheng and videographer Sara Yang’s Death at the Theatre.
Catching Adam Cheng is a touching and funny play about 4 old women who escape from their nursing home to attend veteran Hong Kong actor/singer Adam Cheng’s concert. In Death at the Theatre, the lives of 8 people get tangled in a strange place where death is sought after and wants are gotten. It’s a scary play that keeps you at the edge of your seat.
During the second night, National University of Singapore Law undergraduate Christine Sim’s Numb competed with FHM Singapore editor and author David Fuhrmann-Lim’s Soya Bean.
In Numb, a physically-numb woman, an emotionally-numb man and their lovers are embroiled in a dark story of passion, romance and secrets. On the other hand, Soya Bean, which was originally scripted for film, is a clever and humorous play that goes behind the scenes to explore the lives of youthful Singaporean filmmakers who are doing a fictional remake of the 1970s cult film Soylent Green.
The Response
The audience loved the plays, laughing along with the characters and watching wide-eyed as the more serious events unfolded.
Blogger “Pleinelune” was at the semi-finals on both nights. Despite some rather harsh and detailed critique on technicality of the scripts, she still conceded that the plays were “actually not that bad” despite her high standards.
Overall, THEATREiDOLS 2008, touted by organisers ACTION Theatre as the “theatrical face-off of the year” which would “help determine the future of Singapore Theatre” lived up to expectations. All the scripts were daring, well thought-out and meaningful. The mature themes and the explicit language, however, earned the readings an R18 rating, depriving a younger audience of the experience.
But the playwrights had room for improvement according to contest judge, Associate Professor of Literature & Creative Thinking at the Singapore Management University, Dr Kirpal Singh, who commented that the scripts could have been “bolder in terms of vision, imagination and characterization”.
The Verdict
After its narrow win on the second night, Numb goes up against first night’s winner Catching Adam Chengat the Esplanade Concert Hall on Mar 17. Admission is free. Contact info@action.org.sg for tickets.
The winning play will then be featured in ACTION Theatre’s upcoming performance season.
According to the official press release, Theatre Idols 2008 is part of Singapore Theatre Oasis, ACTION Theatre’s ongoing programme aimed at nurturing and developing original Singapore plays.
The programme receives support from Lee Foundation, National Arts Council, Cosmoprof International, Lightspeed Technologies and Rodyk & Davidson .