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| Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Theatre > Sing Song by The Necessary Stage Sing Song by The Necessary Stage was held at Marine Parade Community Building Theatre on the 16 September - 3 October 2004. It was directed by Sean Tobin. Reviewed jointly by Spencer Ng and Dawn Fung.A MUSICAL MENAGERIE AT MARINE PARADE Reviewer : Spencer Ng  Composed in 1801, Moonlight Sonata was written when Beethoven was going deaf. Closer to home and nearer to this time and age, Jonathan Teo did the same thing in his own soundless world - singing his very own song through sign language. Titled 'You are My Star', and played with nothing more than keyboards and drums, this minimalistic piece sure spirited the audience at the Necessary Stage's latest community play to another time. And it made no difference that we were all sitting enthralled by this play at Marine Parade Community Centre, we could very well have been in post independence kampong dwelling Singapore in the late 60s. Such was the timeless nature of the music put together that we were transported across the fabric of time - effortlessly. Forcing us to sit through P.Ramlee one minute and then launching into ABBA the next, it was a sheer rollercoaster ride of musical mayhem interwoven together by a Milan Kunderesque mish mash of kinda-related stories about love, death, hope and simply getting along together. There will be certain scenes that I know will be at the back of my head for years to come. Being a community play, I knew that somehow or rather, the four races of Singapore will be represented in the play and true to form, they were. In a bizarre attempt to bring the different races together to display their musical prowess, Makcik Power - the Music TV host - played by Aidli produced an hilarious concoction of racial disharmony with Kumar being at the centre of it all. In a classic Kumar moment, Lim Kay Siu said that it was dog-eat-dog world, only to have Kumar rebut him, "dogs don't eat dogs, only you Chinese eat dogs!" Lim Kay Siu also recounted his story about his dad to the tune of Mozart in the background. Describing a story of how manhood came in the form of sharing a can of beer with his dad. His story also spoke of how his dad bared his soul to young Kay Siu in a rare moment of connection between father and son. Interspersed between all this was the story of an aging guitarist played by Lim Kay Siu who still aspires to heydays of his jam band. Now married to the singer in his jam band, he has to work as a security guard to support his family. However, for his dreams he leaves his family behind to pursue his love for music. As music accompanies each character through his or her struggles, triumphs, strife and reconciliation, one thing becomes clear, we can clearly identify with the role that music has played in our lives. It has been our signposts at life's junctions and it has been there to help us remember and recollect our emotions and thoughts at different points in our lives. Full points to The Necessary Stage for a very credible performance. Although the music appealed mostly to our taste for Western culture and was primarily targeted at people in their 40s (ABBA, P. RAMLEE, Burt Bacharach, those people definitely don't belong to my era, that's for sure). The capability of the production to move, recount and recreate the emotions at different points in life was a wonder to watch in itself. And if you are wondering about the title, it simply doesn't do justice to the depth of the play, it is simply titled - Sing Song. ------------------- The Common Touch by Dawn Fung Sean Tobin's last production at The Necessary Stage left us a thankful teardrop on our disc shaped programme. Working with Natalie Hennedige, the pair produced an unforgettable experience based on the most popular aural concept - music. Unlike family and gender themes which often long for some alternative solutions, music is that rarefied medium that leaves one satisfied with no solutions. Songs then, are a mystery because we sing the problems we don't want to face, albeit in parodies and notes. In 'Sing Song', it was not the vocal prowess that arrested your attention but the the heart behind the lyrics that were disarmingly familiar. Moving back and forth from a family that was birthed out of Talentine, interspersed by family members' problems with life and TNS' usual true accounts by actors, 'Sing Song' brought out glaring issues in a preferred mode of communication. The highlight was a multi-racial music programme aimed to get each member of Singapore's ethnic make-up to talk about distinctions in their music and indirectly, race. Differences that were brought out were done in the best of local fashion - impolite comedy. To hear a Eurasian defend an unknown song, a Chinese on a flute that no one likes to listen, an Indian fascinated with snake charming and a Malay's sonorous vocals were familiar enough to lessen tension, but not lessons. Other musical numbers throughout the production included Abba, Mozart as well as refreshing local works by actors. The cast was wonderful. I really enjoyed Aidli Mosbit's run as the stereotypical Malay housewife amidst the tragicomedy of her stories. Gani Karim holds an amazing talent for songwriting but at times he seemed more suited to gigs than to theatre. Lim Kay Siu's moving odes to his wife prompted me to ask this remarkable actor for his next release, and Celine Rosa Tan kept up with able performances next to older peers. Not to say the least, I was pleasantly surprised to see Kumar 'work' this time in a balanced cast that sang in sync. Other artists like Tic Tac Tone and Abel Tan had their lines but I wondered if they were not part of the direction to include everything and everyone. In the case of Jonathan Teo, his sign language reminded me of the truth of music as a universal language. I understood why 'Sing Song' was such an addictive surprise - its benign sounds allowed exploration into the banned arenas of race and religion that seemed more fun than anything. For once, I was able to enjoy the campiness and think about the larger issues at play. Sometimes, it is the most necessary thing that hits home. It seems at times that the dearth of good plays that easily relate to the community at large are overshadowed by boring gay productions and less and less comprehensible theatre. Though Singapore theatre should never question the benefits of development, the lack of quality and understanding in experimentation and audience knowledge had left a yawning gap in our bid to become a world class city. Whereas other companies might have the upper hand in techniques and stage disciplines, The Necessary Stage has gone out to affirm their strength - that theatre can be for everyone. Touching us on a powerful note, 'Sing Song' was a worthy send off for a heart that is sold out for the community.
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