FIFO.sg review of THE SPIRITS PLAY

New Voices, New Languages - The Spirits Play review By ragetan 15 Aug

tags: theatre drama The Theatre Practice tetc Kok Heng Leun Kuo Pao Kun

The Spirits Play assaults your intellectual senses subtly but intensely – through thoughts, words and gesture. Pacing slowly and deliberately, the work skilfully draws out the universal from the personal, such that the tiny details of an individual’s life take on epic hues.

In the literal sense, Spirits brings together a clutch of personalities affected by World War II in Asia. The characters include a general, a war poet, a mother, a comfort woman, and a soldier, among others. These spirits are without any physical context. The hodge-podge of personal tales unfurls at first in a jagged manner, and eventually converges in a scathing indictment of the war.
This pared-down, monologue-heavy interpretation of the late Kuo Pao Kun’s script has a post-modern flair of its own. In the words of Director Kok Heng Leun, the play is images, memories, survivors, jigsaw puzzle. Eschewing linearity, the strength of TETC’s maiden production lies in its sudden flashes of brilliance, searing scenes or words into your memory. One such bittersweet monologue is by Taiwanese actress Themis Lin, whose character marries a soldier sent on a suicide mission. Conveying sparse but impactful detail, Themis relates how they enjoyed half a night of married life before he departs, his fading figure disappearing into the mist of the night, never to return.

The talented and charismatic cast, all TTRP alumni, anchored the production valiantly. The dedication, discipline and chemistry in the cast were evident. A quirk of TETC’s production, to have the international cast speak in their own languages, adds volumes of intensity. Cantonese, Spanish, Malayalam and English mingle naturally without awkwardness, even though the original script is in Mandarin. In this language-centred work, the use of mother tongues contributes marvelously to the authenticity and force of each character. Unfortunately, the practical need to constant read the subtitles added a layer of labour that taxed the audience for an uninterrupted 140 minutes. One also occasionally wished for more physical interaction between characters, as the few instances of interactivity were highly effective and enjoyable.

The Spirits Play by TETC may not be the first choice for those seeking fun and lightness, but its rewards will remain with you long afterwards.