MAN Singapore Theatre Festival 2011 -- "Family Outing"

 I just got back from watching Family Outing. I must say, as the third show I've watched in the MAN Singapore Theatre Festival 2011, this was a nice ending to the theatre fest.

The title Family Outing was I thought, very apt. A trip down memory lane to remember times spent with a loved one. And down that lane.... something different from what they remembered stood out, and all of a sudden, the family is seeing the same scenery and yet painting a different picture all at the same time.

Written by someone of the same age as I am, I could somehow relate to the characters of the story, no matter how foreign the topics discussed were to me. (I am neither a Christian nor am I gay, and I have few friends who are)

Family Outing poster

The play was considerably short, just over an hour. But as a script written for a play script module in school, I think this is as good as it gets. It isn't too complex, it isn't too deep, but it gnaws at you the way real life does, and I think that is the beauty of it.

The show discusses about religion and death and gay issues, all seemingly dark and angsty. But somehow, Joel Tan (the playwright) managed to combine all these elements into a heartwarming and humorous piece about acceptance and love.

Though it was hard to accept the way the Choo family behaved in the first scene, with all the celebration and popping of sparkling wine for the first year anniversary of a son's death, but I guess everyone deals with grief differently, so no judgement there.

In any case, it is a feat for someone this young.

I particularly liked the parents of this show. Karen Tan and Lim Kay Siu put up very commendable performances and brought the characters to life. I like the way the parents were being portrayed, and I loved how in the end Doris (the mother) came to terms that she had actually known that her son was gay all along (since 12!?!?) but instead chose to ignore it.

The awkward moment came during the "talk back session" when the playwright, director and performers were up on stage answering questions from the audience and the playwright's (ACTUAL) brother spoke up and said, "So why did you not tell us before and now choose to do this so publicly?"

Erm... AWKWARD.

So, it's sort of a "true" story, at least adapted from his own life story. No wonder it felt so real...

About "Family Outing" from the MAN Singapore Theatre Festival official website:

The Choos aren’t used to being sad, even with a death in the household. A year after their son Joseph dies, the family – HDB auntie Doris, civil servant Amos and their neurotic youngest son, Brandon – pops a bottle of bubbly in good Christian cheer to celebrate his life and times. But a knock at the door promises to change things forever. A young man called Daniel arrives to announce the truth of a Joseph the family had never known. 

What follows is intense family drama as the Choos and Daniel struggle to reconcile the facts of Christian life – hellfire and damnation – with the Joseph they’ve lost, want to remember and are already beginning to forget. Meanwhile, Joseph looks on and comes to terms with being dead, filling the loneliness of the grave with fond memories of his family.

Family Outing is both a playful romp and a moving biography of a family examining – with laughs along the way – some painful facts of life: the burdens of unconditional love and of saying goodbye.

The "Family Outing" trailer

Interviews with the real masterminds...

MAN Singapore Theatre Festival 2011: "Cooling Off Day"

They say that Singapore GE 2011 was the watershed for Singapore political history, or at least, for modern Singapore society.


Indeed, this was the first time Singaporeans were so psyched up about GE. And through the use of multi-media and social networking sites, the propaganda of different parties spread like wild fire.


It was exhilarating, even more so for a first-time voter like me. And I thought, I could feel the excitement all over again when I watched "Cooling Off Day"

Well, I must give credits to the playwright Alfian Sa'at for pulling together accounts, thoughts and opinions of people from different walks and races on GE 2011. It was interesting to hear the views of others, especially people from different parties (Opposition VS PAP) just to give it a balanced view.


Still, you could sense that the show was tilted. (towards the Opposition of course)


Was vaguely disappointed because this ain't really a play per se, but a recount of different voices put up on the same stage. Albeit the performers did a fantastic job memorizing all the lines and personas of different characters.


But that was just that.


Interesting. But perhaps miss-able.


Shared a laughter or two, and was especially tickled with the adaptation of Mr Brown's popular podcast of Bar Chor Mee VS Teochew Muay. 


I must say that I particularly liked the last scene of the entire play. It reflected the actual number of white seats (representing PAP) and red seats (representing Opposition) in the Parliament.


After all, if voices were not translated to actions, it would in the end only be, well, just voices. 


But then again, regardless the colors of seats in the Parliament, they represent our Nation.


And I think that's the take home point of the show. Or so I thought. 


Read sypnosis of "Cooling Off Day" below, taken from the MAN Singapore Theatre Festival official website:

Why do you vote?
What issues influenced you?
What does citizenship mean to you?

In the electrifying months leading up to the watershed 2011 General Elections, and in the tumultuous months after, playwright Alfian Sa’at interviewed Singaporeans to discover their responses to these searching questions. Boldly putting aside concerns about secrecy, the interviewees opened their hearts to share what they honestly felt and what they truly believe in.

Covering a wide social and political spectrum, the candid interviews capture the GE experience through the voices of individual Singaporeans – from election candidates to pro-establishment civil servants; from taxi-drivers to teachers; from diehard opposition supporters to young people casting their virgin votes. From the transcripts of these real-life interviews emerges a script that chronicles the momentous event that not only rocked the boat, but created startling ripples that are still widening even now.

The private clashes behind the public debates... the personal convictions behind the party politics... even that unforgettable moment as they finally stood alone in the polling booth with pen in hand, poised to make their mark. These interviews – some hopeful, some fearful, some hilariously frank, some achingly honest – form a portrait of Singaporeans confronting the real meaning of democracy and rediscovering their role in shaping the country’s future.

An ensemble of our most versatile actors, playing characters aged 17 to 70, takes on these Singaporean voices – in a playful and poignant piece of testimony theatre that proves how political views are not just the hot air of coffeeshop talk.

And more videos of it, below:

(Cooling Off Day trailer)

             (Cooling Off Day - Interview with Alfian Sa'at and Ivan Heng)

MAN Singapore Theatre Festival 2011 -- "Charged"

This was the first play I watched in part of the MAN Singapore Theatre Festival 2011.

(Official poster for MAN Singapore Theatre Festival 2011)

"Charged" is very much a Singapore production. It talks about National Service, the different races in our society, about Racial Harmony Day. It uses lingo, catchphrases and context which are familiar to the eyes and ears of Singaporeans. It injects humour which sometimes only locals understand.

However, behind the snide remarks and humor of this show, it deals with serious and thought provoking issues which have a gravity not only for Singapore, but also for other globalized societies as well.

Below, quoted from the MAN Singapore Theatre Festival website, is a sypnosis of what "Charged" is all about:

It’s Chinese New Year and the only soldiers in camp on guard duty are Malay or Indian. That is, until Corporal Russell Lim turns up. Things start turning ugly when the insults start flying and all that’s taboo becomes fair game. By the end of the night, a Chinese and a Malay soldier are found dead.

Enter Investigating Officer Victor de Souza, who needs to uncover the chain of events that have led to the tragedy. 

The stakes are high because the incident has led to an eruption of tension between the Malay and Chinese communities in Singapore. Yet with each interview that he conducts, he plunges deeper into a labyrinth of slippery half-truths and sly omissions.

Can Officer de Souza arrive at the truth? Or will he be confronted with something so terrible that there is no other choice but a cover up?

Set in the claustrophobic confines of the army, Chong Tze Chien’s Charged interrogates the thorny issue of race with brutal honesty and a refreshing lack of political correctness. 

 Born and bred in Singapore, living in a multi-racial society has always been part and parcel of my life. I've never thought much about complexities of living with so many different ethnicity, race and religion, and probably never will if not for this show.

The show led me thinking: Is Singapore really a society in which different races are living harmoniously with each other? Is racial harmony equivalent to racial tolerance? I know that in order to have harmony, you must first learn to tolerate the differences, and from there understand and appreciate.

So is that what we are? A harmonious society? Or are we just being tolerable?

I've never thought about the differences between the different races, simply because we are not taught to. People of different races grow up in the same community, we study in the same school, we watch the same TV channel(s) (It's actually only just Channel 5), and we have the same bunch of friends.

So really, I am ignorant of the seriousness of the differences between different races, religions and beliefs.

I think this is a problem when you are in the "majority" group. Majority of Singaporeans are Chinese, and when you think about it, the same set of differences you see when you are in a big group seemed smaller. In retrospect, the same set of differences you see when you are in a small group gets amplified.

Through the eyes of different people, issues get tainted, sometimes magnified. And that's when you get friction.

I think this is what essentially this play is about. 

The show is presented by a refreshing set of casts (finally no Adrian Pang), and I like how the play was directed. Same scene, different interpretations. It's something like the movie Vantage Point, just that you don't need to bear through watching the same scene from different angles seven times.

I have to say that the mothers of the show did a great job. I like Serene Chen, who portrayed the character of Russel's mother. You can almost sense her helplessness and disbelief, when she heard news of her son murdering a fellow soldier and then committing suicide. Especially touching was the scene which showed two mothers and their (dead) sons, and when they knelt before their mothers to apologize, it was heart wrenching.

 It's been some time since I last watched a show which not only can I relate to, but also made me think further.

"Charged", I heard, was one of the MAN Singapore Theatre Festival productions which was a sell out the earliest, and it is not difficult to see why.

CHARGED trailer

Hear DA MAN speak. Writer of CHARGED: Chong Tze Chien

"Into the Woods"

 It was a musical which my friend was dying to watch, and as an "artsy fartsy" friend who had nothing else better to do, I decided to watch the musical with her.

It burnt a big hole through my pocket and I was squinting my eyes to even make out the expressions of the performers because we sat so far back.

Surprisingly for a musical, the story plot held itself quite well. I didn't know it was originally a broadway musical and even won itself a couple of Tonys only until the interval break. The characters were funny enough and you could see that they put in lots of effort with all the lyrics and lines and dance steps.

The songs however weren't as catchy as I thought they would be. Most of them even sounded "tuneless" to me, or maybe I was tone deaf, or maybe the performers weren't doing such a great job.

The few who impressed me were definitely the witch (imagine the witch doing rap and dang can she sing!) Little did I know that she's actually some "dua pai" (big shot) from broadway itself, no wonder she was a few levels above the rest of the performers. But the other two characters who caught my attention were the princes. They were unanimously the funniest characters in the show, and their songs were catchy too!

I was pleasantly surprised that Adrian Pang can actually sing (yes he is in the show -- again.) But still, he pales in comparison to the rest of the performers.

All in all I wasn't too thrilled with the performance, taking into consideration of the price tag which came along with it. (I sat three levels above the stage and my ticket cost a hefty 61 bucks)

(Behind the scenes of "Into the Woods")

(Behind the scenes of their TVC shoot)

("Into the Woods" TVC)

"Macbeth"

Went with a couple of friends to catch "Shakespeare in the Park", simply because the idea of watching a play in the park is too cool to resist. And what show better to enjoy in a park than "Macbeth"?

I am kidding.

I've not read Macbeth before, so I have no idea what I got myself into. It's been almost three months since I watched the show (it was sometime in May, can't remember when), and the only thing I can remember out of it was that my friend and I were enjoying sushi and drinking sparkling wine while watching some play which we "caught no balls". Oh yes, and that I remembered myself almost dozing off to sleep midway through the show.

Maybe I'm not "cultured" enough. I simply could not get any of the jokes which other people seem to be laughing at.

Firstly, we were at the disadvantage because we did not read the novel before this.

Secondly, the play did not help our understanding because the performers were reading out their lines in old English. ("Art thou shall not, thee shall do what art thou" --- you get the idea)

Thirdly, OH ENOUGH OF ADRIAN PANG ALREADY. It almost looked like we were stalking him. I could not fathom why he is appearing in almost all the shows I'm watching. Are there seriously no one else there who can act? SERIOUSLY?!

So, none of the above helped the situation and during the interval, my friend asked the best question of the day, "So... who is Macbeth ah?"

So now can you understand why we were dozing off and the only things we enjoyed out of this were our sushi and wine?

(EVEN THE PICTURE IS NOT HELPING!)

《她的故事》 HERstory

久违了，朋友们！距离上一次所看的最后一部舞台剧其实不算太久，只是时间久了就慢慢开始变得怠慢，人的本性，实在难改。

Anyway，今天不知怎么来了一个“神来笔”，所以决定重新开始记载看完每一部剧后的心得。在《881》之后接下来看的另一部舞台剧叫做《她的故事》"HERstory"。距离那时跟现在其实已经有将近3个月之久（５月２８日看的），故事情节也有一些淡忘了，非常遗憾。BUT，好的剧场演出，无论是多久以前的剧，当时的震撼还是会遗留在体内。（就像"POOP"一样）

 （剧中母亲的角色有个绰号叫作“黑牡丹”）

《她的故事》故事内容：

While history often celebrates men, HERstory is a tribute to Singapore’s forgotten women in the 50s and 60s. Inspired by the women of that generation, Otto Fong tells the story of a tenacious woman with an unfulfi lled dream.

She was a young girl with a beautiful voice and a love for singing. Embroiled in the politics of that era, this young woman was forced to give up the chance to pursue her love in choral singing, while struggling to keep her family together during the years of turmoil. When the 21st century arrived and she thought she could fi nally lead a normal life, she found herself in the thick of a changing world, along with changing values, ethos and beliefs.

(excerpt from http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/126)

依稀记得故事讲的是关于新加坡争取独立时的那一段历史。在学校历史书上写的是一回事，但在舞台上扮演的却是我们不曾耳闻过但确实发生过的事实。写出这部剧的Otto Fong，父母就亲身经历过那一段不安定的日子，而故事里歌颂的，就是这群被历史书遗弃，被遗忘的斗士，勇者。

 （剧中采用了许多“剪影”，是想告诉我们这些都是一些人们常“看不到”的事吗？）

故事内容有点沉重。当然，有哪一个建国故事是不沉重的？剧里描述了人家避而不谈的忌讳ISA (Internal Security Act)，更加准确来说就是“冷藏行动”（Operation Coldstore）。不知道的朋友们Ｇｏｏｇｌｅ一下就知道了。

 （很特别的场景，报纸布满了整个舞台，好像是要代表那个年代所“真正”发生的“事实”）

里头叙述了笔者父母亲所经历过的那一段日子。父母曾因“冷藏行动”而无故地被关了其来。虽然母亲被释放了，但手无寸铁地带着一个儿子，活在当时带着有色眼光的社会里，所面对的艰辛和挣扎，是我们这一代所有远不能体会及了解的。

 （李邪扮演了“黑牡丹”一角，扣人心弦）

记得在看着一部剧时，有小滴几滴眼泪，尤其是到了尾声，儿子长大了，跟母亲之间的交流，更加感伤。儿子不理解母亲那时过的事什么样子的一个生活。在柔佛的家被翻箱倒柜之后却不敢报警；在新加坡有了家之后却还一直回去，并且到老了才追寻自己唱歌的梦想。那个时代的女性，就只有两个字形容：“伟大！”

这部剧，是向Ｏｔｔｏ的母亲致敬，是向像他母亲一样的女性致敬。

(Pictures credit from http://blog.omy.sg/dramabox/archives/575) 　

《881》

上个星期看了这部舞台剧。新加坡人应该不陌生，《881》是一部电影搬上舞台的歌舞剧。其实，在台上搬演出七月歌台的人生，岂不是再恰当不过吗？

舞台剧 VS 电影

说句良心话，依我所附的价钱（buy one get one free... woot!）其实是非常value-for-money的。这得归功于陈小姐。人脉广，果然不一样。

好了，切入正题。故事方面因为已经看过了原创的电影，所以剧情的起伏，高潮，都在发生以前就已经料到。没有什么惊叹声，也没有让人意想不到的情节。这或许是件好事，但也可能是件坏事。因为观众已经大略知晓故事情节的走向，所以导演可以把精力放在一些更细腻的感情及人物处理上。但也有可能因为观众都已经看过或听说过这部电影，所以难免会拿来比较。

很可惜，似乎是被比下去了。

演员方面，除了大家熟悉的木瓜姐妹，玲姨及关英，还有谐星挂的福禄寿，dua-kee （福建话大支），以及歌台的妈妈桑（又是男扮女装的马来同胞。。。到底烦不烦啊！？）

几乎每一部我看过的歌舞剧都有男扮女装的丑角。真的，老梗用多了是会失效的。

觉得“福”（左一）是最好笑的！

反而是福禄寿三位神仙倒是挺逗趣，搞得台下的观众都乐得合不拢嘴，再加上歌艺方面也不错。。。加分！

《雨季》的姐姐，出过专辑的妹妹。果然跟其他的不一样。

木瓜姐妹雁雁和敏敏是故事的核心人物。而两位演员也非常称职，唱唱跳跳，难不倒她们。只是大合唱时似乎埋没了她们的歌唱实力，到了后半段独唱时，才发现她们真的很会唱。

有。。。让我吓到

玲姨。。。不方面讲评，因为本身就认识她。只能说，真的让我吓一跳。

 演技真得不怎么样，歌唱方面也是剧组里的weakest link。。。加油吧！

关英。。。 还好他是个不太说话的角色。所以勉强过的去。

故事的呈现手法，有些部分看不是很下去。特别是当导演带过一些细节时，实在不了解为什么要安排福禄寿和几位舞者在后面唱唱跳跳的桥段。若有一些关联还无所谓。问题是，福禄寿不仅抢戏，而且跳的舞在我的印象中好像也跟大小木瓜和关英之间的三角关系没什么联系。

总而言之，就是粗略地带过一些，我觉得很重要的部分。

服装及舞台设计方面。真的没什么好嫌的了。我想，８０％的票价应改是为了承担那些昂贵的服装和舞美吧。若是冲着为了感受欢快歌舞的气氛而来观赏这部舞台剧的人，也算是值回票价的了。更何况，在剧开始之前还安排了演员们下台与观众互动，这个主意挺新鲜的。（所以就算剧组迟开始，我也就姑且原谅了他们！）

若真的要挑剔的话，那就是这套服装。。。似乎让我想到了某位艺人。。。

 是我多心了吗？还是他们的服装真的很像？

更多资讯，可上他们的官方网站查询：http://www.toyfactory.com.sg/joolma/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=133&Itemid=125

最近的舞台剧都好像和喜欢做广告。。。

《我爱阿爱》

实践的最新作品《我爱阿爱》是由香港著名编剧杜国威执笔的创作，讲述的是一名身患癌症，病入膏肓的70岁老头，和一名30不到的女看护阿爱之间的爱情故事。

霎那看过去，其实故事挺简单的。故事由这对“老牛吃嫩草”的情侣为中心，逐渐延伸到子女对于一支脚已踏入棺材的老爸所宣布的消息而做出的反应。快要病死的老爸不但要迎娶他的第二春，而且看护还怀了比孙子们还小10岁的儿子！（俗称 baby uncle）

看护到底是为了什么跟老头子结婚？肚子里的孩子究竟是不是老头子的？孩子出生之后由谁来照顾？由谁来抚养？三个孩子都已成家立业，他们能不能够接受一个比他们还小的小妈？

突然之间，故事似乎没有想象中的那么简单。

在舞台上所呈现出来的剧情是非常写实，非常生活化的。这似乎是我们翻开报纸时或许会读到的一则新闻。但这部剧的精髓在于它透过了老头和看护之间的关系，反映出他与子女之间的亲情，也更加凸显了子女们与他们伴侣之间的爱情。

对我来说，这部剧并没有一个明显的高潮。孩子们从惊愕，到困惑，到抗拒，到接受，是一个很逐渐的过程。导演慢慢地把你带进故事里，体验人物们所体验的；感受人物们所感受的。若硬要挤出一个高潮来的话，应该是二女儿与丈夫在阳台上之间的对话吧。丈夫的话，听得很难听，字字如针般地刺进老婆的心里。明知道他是故意刺激她的，但听进去了仍然非常伤人。对我来说，那是整部剧的高潮。不是很高，但起码揪到我的心。

孙女所朗读的诗，应该是很有意境才是。但可能因为年纪小，所以读起来平平的，诗句都略略带过，并没有起着很大的作用。虽然过后导演又安排把小孙女搬上台，以旁白的身份再把诗词朗诵了一遍，但我觉得效果并没有明显地达到。如果由剧中那三个儿女念起来的话，或许会更贴切，更能产生共鸣。

整部剧的场景，是老头子的旧家。可旋转式的布景让观众们看到家里家外所发生的情节。背景布置得很细腻，可旋转的家也挺稀奇的。但转得太多，反变成了分散观众注意力的要害。看多了会腻，而且有些许的厌烦。更何况转的不是很快，也不是很静。会听到台下机器的操作声，真的不是很优雅。

接近尾声时，采用了黄色的灯，斜打在老家的背景。好像暗喻着老头子入黄昏般即将要逝去。不仅让我联想到“夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏”这句话。

最后一幕则呈现了极端：台右是孩子们紧张地在医院里等候老爸的消息，台左是医生走出后小儿子与女朋友开心地拥抱在一起的画面。应该是孩子出生了吧？

"Closer"

Originally a play which was later remade into a film starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen, "Closer" talks about the intricacies of human relationship, about how people hurt those who love them and those they love. Through actions, and more importantly through words as sharp as blades, the emotions felt between the four characters were played out in detail, and almost painfully at the end of the show.

So this is the poster which everyone's o-so familiar with, the pretty faces of Hollywood.

 

And this is Pangdemonium's poster of "Closer". Not much originality eh?

Hmm, is it just me or have I seen something similar elsewhere?

Oh well, originality aside, this is after all an adaptation of Patrick Marber's play. What's more, isn't it more convenient to just apply a winning formula when you already have one? Seriously, having four halved faces with piercing expressions at the front of a poster can only ring one bell.

 This is the closest you can get, like seriously.

Marketing gimmicks aside, Pangdemonium's version of "Closer" was actually bearable, for what it's worth... The smartest move of all perhaps would be to have Tan Kheng Hua acting as Anna (aka Julia Roberts in the movie).

I happened to read off somewhere that it's actually her second time portraying the character of Anna, which is a good thing, given that she would need as much time as she could have to develop chemistry with the team (Emma Yong was the original Anna but fell sick and Tan Kheng Hua took over the role). 

Tan Kheng Hua's character stood out almost immediately while the rest of her peers paled in comparison when she was in the same frame as them. Her poise, mannerism, words and actions speak of Anna, an accomplished photographer who craves for love and yet is torn between desire and being loved. Basically, she is clueless of what she wants.

Keagan Kang, the prettiest face of the lot, is of course, Dan (aka Jude Law in the movie). His portrayal of Dan, was commendable as well, a barely scrapping by obituary writer who, like Anna, is constantly seeking of love and yet knows nothing of it.

Adrian Pang is... Adrian Pang. Well, he is Larry in the show (aka Clive Owen in the movie), but frankly speaking, I can only see the actor but not the character. Not that I know him personally, but his persona of Larry doesn't differ much from his other characters in other plays. Maybe... just an angrier Adrian Pang. And I have this personal thing against his accent.

His best scene would perhaps be the scene with Tan Kheng Hua at the apartment after he got back from a medical conference. You could almost see the flow of energy between the two characters during the confession scene, as Larry pushed harder and harder for details from Anna. Words, like lethal weapons, and they were stabbing each other with every question and corresponding answer.


Cynthia Lee MacQUARRIE as Alice, well... I'm not sure if that's the best choice, but I'm not sure of the options either, so I'm not really in the position to say if she's the most suitable or not. Sad to say, I felt that she was the weakest link out of the four characters. She tried, but I couldn't really connect to her character, especially so when I can't help to compare her with Natalie Portman. Alice, in my opinion is the strongest character of them all in the show. Of course not physically, but character wise, Alice is the strongest. She knows what she wants, she gives it all to get what she wants, and she is the one without second thoughts. Cynthia portrays Alice as she is, but there's so much more to this character than what we see and what we hear, and I think the depth was missing.

The plot, which we are all so familiar with, was not as tightly knit as I would liked it to be. But it was bearable most of the times. The stage design was clever, with shifts and modifications of simple props and backdrops to transform a bedroom to an aquarium.

All in all, the show was a commendable effort, but given the already well scripted words and characters which are full of personalities and conflicts, I would be expecting more from the show.


Pangdemonium, time for some original plays maybe?
 

《红玫瑰与白玫瑰 Red Rose & White Rose》

华艺节2011所看的第二部剧：《红玫瑰与白玫瑰》

这是一部由中国国家话剧院所呈现的舞台剧。演员们在台上落力地演绎了改编自张爱玲的同名小说《红玫瑰与白玫瑰》。

佟振保。。。偷吃后在抹嘴吗？

 中国国家话剧院，是许多出色演员的聚集地。查了查他们的网址，李冰冰，章子怡都是中国国家话剧院的毕业生。当然还少不了该剧目的主要女演员之一－秦海璐。

张爱玲，是名出色的作家。参加演评时听导演说到《红玫瑰与白玫瑰》这部小说是她２４岁时写的作品，可谓天才作家。若没听过她的名字，一定听过或观赏过她的作品。。。《色，戒》，《半生缘》，《金锁记》以及许多其他的杰出小说都是出自于她的笔下。

扣人心弦的故事，再加上精湛的演技。。。这部舞台剧，应该不会太差吧？

相比之下，这个星期六的心情比上个星期六（命运建筑师）的好多了。

导演及编剧因为考虑到年代的问题，所以以一个后现代主义的处理方式，让故事情节更能够得到观众的共鸣。舞台设计非常简单。一个长长的玻璃走廊竖起来看，把台左和台右分割开来，目的在于把主人翁“佟振保”的人生故事以及遭遇以“过去式”和“现在式”讲述给观众们听。

佟振保的“过去式”，就是热恋中但已是有夫之妇的红玫瑰－王娇蕊。而“现在式”则是不爱但又是自己老婆的白玫瑰－孟烟鹂。

佟振保就像穿梭在时光隧道之间，以中间的玻璃走廊为中心，徘徊在“过去”和“现在”，慢慢地把观众拉近自己的内心世界里。

玻璃走廊把两个时空隔开来

另一个值得一提的处理手法，则是采用“两人一角”的表演形式进行全剧。除了两位配角之外，主角“佟振保”，“红玫瑰”，以及“白玫瑰”是共由六个人饰演的。第一幕时看的有些奇怪，但导演通过服装，动作以及台词告诉了观众，演员们都是主人翁的缩影。

两个佟振保，左拥右抱的最高境界！

把一部叙述式的言情小说搬上舞台，不是一件容易的事。人物必须立体化，台词要风趣，剧情要紧凑。。。种种不同的因素结合起来不为了是要抓住观众们的的眼睛，观众们的心。

这一点，就算是没有读过张爱玲小说的我都被征服了，何况是那些慕名而来的观众们。

虽然剧情的场景设在旧上海时期，但剧中所探讨的话题其实与现今的我们都息息相关。毕竟，外遇、背叛、妥协等课题都是永远存在的。

男主角在结婚前结识了有夫之妇红玫瑰。当初的妩媚和娇滴，随着慢慢滋生的爱情而消逝。到最后红玫瑰与前夫离婚，把自己变成白玫瑰时，才发现一直都是自己的一厢情愿。男主角后来因为身家背景娶了洁白似玉的白玫瑰，但又因为她的单调乏味在外拈花惹草。恍然发掘其实自己爱着的是红玫瑰时，她已经嫁了人，有了孩子。而自己的老婆也搞上了一名小裁缝师。

经典的一句台词：“第二天，佟振保决定要做个好人。”

这是一部以后现代式的导戏手法而产生的叙事性质较强烈的舞台剧。演员们对于所饰演的角色都包持着一种抽离的状态。偶尔与自己的另一个缩影对话，偶尔又跳出角色角开始评论所发生的事情。当这部剧的演员，还真不容易啊！

虽然还是主张支持写实剧，但《红玫瑰与白玫瑰》的新颖处理手法的却给我留下深刻印象。

有关《红玫瑰与白玫瑰 Red Rose & White Rose》
“娶了红玫瑰，久而久之，红的变了墙上的一抹蚊子血，而白的还是‘床前明月光’； 
娶了白玫瑰，白的便是衣服上沾的一粒饭粘子，红的却是心口上的一颗朱砂痣……” 

红玫瑰白玫瑰，男人该做何选择？ 

这是有关男主角佟振保的故事。和许多男人一样，他的生命中就有两朵玫瑰： 

娇艳的红玫瑰是热烈的情妇，纯净的白玫瑰是圣洁的妻；红的，他爱而不娶；白的，他娶而不爱。 

多年前他抛弃情妇想做好人；多年后他背叛妻子在外花天酒地…… 

直到那一天，他才猛然发觉，家里的白玫瑰孟烟鹂以及当初的红玫瑰王娇蕊，原来都不是红白分明的。女人，毕竟不是玫瑰，绝非一个颜色可以概括。 

改编自上海才女张爱玲的经典小说《红玫瑰与白玫瑰》，以隐喻手法揭露浮华城市背后的空洞与百无聊赖的戏，叫人体会人生的苍凉与无奈。 

本剧导演是中国名导田沁鑫，她以创新的手法让两名演员同饰一角同现舞台，展现时空复杂、层次交叠的内心世界，上演张爱玲“意到笔不到”的纯粹爱情。金马金紫荆双料影后秦海璐与辛柏青、高虎、师春玲领衔演出。

“如果你有一丝感悟，那是张爱玲的高明，而让我们能够以一种放松的心态回首过往，则要感谢田沁鑫导演。”—— 《北京日报》 


于更多信息和录象剪辑，请参观 www.huayifestival.com.

《命运建筑师之--远大前程 Grand Expectations》

 华艺节2011年的主要重头戏之一，《命运建筑师之--远大前程 Grand Expectations》已拉起了帷幕。昨晚观赏了剧团所呈现的第一场戏。只能说... it's a good thing that I didn't have too much grand expectations about this show.

这是第三次在新加坡滨海艺术中心观看非常林奕华的作品。前两部分别是：《华丽上班族之生活与生存》以及《男人与女人之战争与和平》。

三部作品的共同点之一：作品的演员名单里都有台湾名嘴王耀庆，共同点之二则是三部作品的戏路都不是我习惯的风格。

那为什么要观看三部有着 “我不习惯的风格” 的作品呢？我想，应该是为了要过过戏瘾吧。更何况，这是个很很好的学习机会。

这部舞台剧若加上中场休息，总共有3个小时15分钟。以任何舞台剧的标准，3个小时15分钟算是长的了。在这195分钟里， 要维持观众的集中力是很艰难的；要持续在舞台上的那股力量和节奏更是难上加难。或许是因为那样，所以整场戏的起伏并不多。与之前在华艺节所呈现的林奕华作品相比,《命运建筑师之--远大前程》少了一些疯狂，少了一些色彩。但多了一些稳重，多了一些实感。

卡斯阵容坚强，有李心洁，王耀庆，杨祐宁，以及每部剧里都不可或缺的绿叶。知道李心洁，因为看过她的电影，听过她的歌。但舞台剧跟电视剧，跟电影不一样。戏剧张力要强，节奏 感要稳，体力也要好。李心洁，是个灵活自如的表演者。

王耀庆，因为熟悉他在舞台上多过他在电视上，所以可以说他在台 上的轻松，的自在，刚好与角色不谋而合。那狂妄，自大的性格，挥洒自如。

杨祐宁，应该是个新人吧，对他不熟悉。摩西这个角色是个静态的角色，起伏不大，台词不多，能发挥的空间比 “小鬼” 和 “宝贝” 小，是个较 “安全” 的角色，但就因为他的 “安全”，所以也容易被遗忘。

反而令人印象深刻的是饰演 “医生” 的陈恭铭。磁性的声音，偶尔出场的那几分钟，时不时的独白，贯穿了全剧。

故事情节方面， 不是很紧凑，有时候更有托戏的嫌疑。最后一幕 “为什么叫宝贝的家” 里，更是加入了许多累赘的桥段。195分钟，看了有一点累，有一点拖拉。时不时看到周遭的观众有些在打哈欠，有些在看手表，有些更是在黑暗里企图阅读节目表。虽然铺陈很重要。但。。。也花太多时间了吧？

角色的发展层层叠起，但也就局限于三个人之间的感情，以及着重于宝贝的内心世界。

若除去一些冗长的情节，过于白话的台词，整部戏会更加紧凑，更加扣人心弦，更加耐人寻味。

看完整部剧之后，出了门口愕然发现有工作人员在叫卖舞台剧的音乐CD。回想了一下在剧里听到曲目，不过是《20，30，40》和《你的眼睛》。。。实在令人费解。。。

有关《命运建筑师之--远大前程 Grand Expectations》

年轻貌美的宝贝一心渴望遇见白马王子；小伙子小鬼总梦想有朝一日名成利就。 他们专门扮演情侣，在不同的场合为不同的公司演出完美的爱情，赚取客人的信任。

英俊的摩西是一位满怀憧憬的青年建筑师。在一次发展商推出他所设计的新屋时，他看到了宝贝与小鬼的完美搭配。 “怀孕”的宝贝，化身幸福小女人，小鬼俨然是年轻企业家、她体贴的丈夫。两人真真假假的互动，紧扣众人的目光。

摩西深深被宝贝所吸引，他迷上她幸福孕妇的角色，更喜欢她毫无保留的表达方式。于是把宝贝从小鬼身边带 走，邀请她在自己的全新设计作品里表演“一个女人的幸福”，并为他带来成功与名望。

三个人在人生不同的交叉路口分手、相遇，直到命运跟他们开了一个玩笑，猝不及防也无法控制... ...

本剧是香港名导林奕华的最新作品，继《华丽上班族之生活与生存》、《男人与女人之战争与和平》后的“城市三部曲”之完节篇，透过三个都市男女讲述现代人对 幸福与前程的欲望与迷失。由张艾嘉编剧，金马影后李心洁、金马奖最佳新人杨祐宁和台湾型男王耀庆倾力演出。

于更多信息和录象剪辑，请参观www.huayifestival.com.