After thoughts of Swordfish ,then the Concubine

Friday 08/08
Drama Center
OCBC S'pore Theatre Festive 08

The Swordfish ,then the Concubine
Attended the above with friends (Edwin , Jacklyn and company) I have not met in mths! Yeah, that shows how long I have not caught a stage production. back to the play ...

It started with melodious music from the gamelan ensemble. I guess I was expecting more intricate playing from this group or more fusion pieces, but as accompaniment to a play, they are more like garnish , so all we get to hear were sempaks and gansarans. Yet, without the gamelan music, the play would be all too boring at the same time.

The tale is written by renowned M'sian playwright Kee Thuan Chye and directed by Ivan Heng. No matter how serious the play is, Ivan Heng never fails to add in a touch of humour and laugh to it. Set in the pre colonial days, it tells of how a young boy saves Singapura from the attacks of swordfish, but was executed by the Sultan (for fear of the clever young boy may grow up and overtakes his power) .

The Sultan dies, and his successor later puts his concubine to death and brings shame to her family . There were hidden political messages , primarily about the neighbouring country , yet S'porean audiences can still relate to it on a local context. Epic tale with current political issues.

An earlier scene was so draggy that I actually dozed off for a good min or two. Thankfully I was wide awake after the intermission .

Elena Wang ( from the recent Beauty World ,Ivy Chan) played the concubine ..quite polished I must say. Some other actors included Timothy Nga, Lim Yu Beng and Rodney Oliveiro.