I wasn't very keen to watch these two plays. But the friends were persuasive, so I bought my tickets and went along. I certainly don't regret seeing them, and I suppose no matter how unenjoyable (to me) some plays are, they add to my critical appreciation of theater.
'Private Parts' (2018)
When I understood that the re-staging of Michael Chiang's 'Private Parts' in 2018 wouldn't be a new adaptation from its 1992 screenplay (commissioned for the Singapore Festival of Arts), I was less keen to see it. But the last time I saw it was in 2004, and fortunately I was within a circle of family and friends who supported the show's themes and actors.
When I understood that the re-staging of Michael Chiang's 'Private Parts' in 2018 wouldn't be a new adaptation from its 1992 screenplay (commissioned for the Singapore Festival of Arts), I was less keen to see it. But the last time I saw it was in 2004, and fortunately I was within a circle of family and friends who supported the show's themes and actors.
Directed by Beatrice Chia-Richmond, I'm frankly not impressed with this 2018 version. Sure, I get that intolerance and misogynistic views towards transsexuals and transgender people still exist, and Michael Chiang firmly believes that the themes are relevant today, but watching it, I truly felt that it's dated. Sure, there's 'RuPaul's Drag Race' with all its glamor, blitz and fashion through its ten seasons, but there's also immense talent. I don't see a discussion of talent being focused on in the play. I also feel that the playwright and whoever he spoke with, didn't properly define gender identity, and the play comes across as lacking in this aspect. However, I suppose stereotypes and caricatures are what the superficialities are. If these topics in the play and its associated stereotypes or otherwise stir plenty of conversation for the next generation to take up the cause of equality, then the play is still relevant.
'The Reunification of Two Koreas'
Directed by Jacques Vincey, and translated into English by Marc Goldberg, Theatreworks staged Joël Pommerat's 'The Reunification of Two Koreas'. Well, it's got nothing much political going on, and before the show, I knew it was a weird name that has nothing to do with DPRK or South Korea. The idea of 'reunification' is slipped into these human relationships, of people reuniting, reconnecting in various situations. What is love and what is communication? The play centers around love in the age-old exploration of 'eros' and 'agape'.
The play is made up of short stories, vignettes into everyday relationships, and situations that aren't unfamiliar. A teacher accused of molesting a child, Sisters fighting over a man, a bride discovering how her groom had chosen her after a fling with her sisters, husband and wife arguing over the merit of having a son in the army, a husband and his wife hospitalized for dementia, ... et cetera. While the stories are interesting, and the actors were pretty good, I was fidgeting in my seat. At two hours and thirty minutes, the play was a tad draggy.
'The Reunification of Two Koreas'
Directed by Jacques Vincey, and translated into English by Marc Goldberg, Theatreworks staged Joël Pommerat's 'The Reunification of Two Koreas'. Well, it's got nothing much political going on, and before the show, I knew it was a weird name that has nothing to do with DPRK or South Korea. The idea of 'reunification' is slipped into these human relationships, of people reuniting, reconnecting in various situations. What is love and what is communication? The play centers around love in the age-old exploration of 'eros' and 'agape'.
The play is made up of short stories, vignettes into everyday relationships, and situations that aren't unfamiliar. A teacher accused of molesting a child, Sisters fighting over a man, a bride discovering how her groom had chosen her after a fling with her sisters, husband and wife arguing over the merit of having a son in the army, a husband and his wife hospitalized for dementia, ... et cetera. While the stories are interesting, and the actors were pretty good, I was fidgeting in my seat. At two hours and thirty minutes, the play was a tad draggy.
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