Friday, May 1, 2015

Show Time - Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral

Watched my 4th The Studios: fifty play with S today. It was just the 2 of us because H stood us up for a last minute weekend getaway to KL. Booooo.

Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral

Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral is a play by the late Kuo Pao Kun and it is a play that examines the life story of the famed Chinese eunuch, Admiral Zheng He, who explored the world by sea in the 15th Century upon the orders of the Ming Emperor. Parallels are drawn between Zheng He's life experiences and the plight of modern beings in today's society as the play unfolds.

Admiral Zheng He's Travels

I have tremendous respect for this dude. He was the original #YOLO traveller - having great adventures, exploring foreign countries, trying exotic foods, meeting new people.

In this interpretation by director, Jeff Chen, the play was narrated by a myriad of different actors in (presumely pre-recorded) voiceovers. The voices of Siti Khalijah and Karen Tan were instantly recognisable to me. The actors who performed had no dialogue at all, relying instead on their body language and eyes to act out their emotions.

The play was bizarre and interesting in that it felt more like a series of avant-garde performance art that is up to the audience's own interpretation. From sexual intercourse staged with the help of broken mannequin body parts to a balloon-penis making competition, this play was like nothing I have ever seen before. There are broader themes to think about as you take in the ridiculous scenes unfolding before your eyes.

The show reminded me of a discussion in English class on Art during my secondary school days. 'What is Art?' was the question and over the course of that term, we learnt about different art movements, different artists and debated the question many times. That term in school ignited my passion for art and taught me to appreciate art in its different forms.

The examples quoted of local performance artists left an indelible impression on me when I was 15. I remember feeling disgusted when told about Vincent Leow drinking his own urine after he peed into a cup in front of his audience and Josef Ng snipping his pubic hair in public. We were told good performance art is meant to evoke strong reactions and feelings, encouraging discourse and debate. By this definition then, since S & I were not inspired at the end to dissect the play and pore over all the performances, then this show has fell short of its mark.

Oh wait, we did discuss that Timothy Nga looked great in a loincloth. So there was that.


Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral
Event Date: Thu, 30 Apr - Sat, 3 May 2015; Thu - Sat: 8pm; Sat & Sun: 3pm
Venue: Esplanade Theatre Studio

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