Show Time - Titoudao

After seeing on Sistic's website that this is Titoudao's 5th staging in Singapore, I was intrigued. And so was SC, so we made plans to catch it together

The play traces the life story of local street opera performer, Madam Oon Ah Chiam, and scenes about her life story is juxtaposed against scenes from the street opera Titoudao. The play is presented in a smattering of languages including Hokkien, Chinese, English, Malay and Singlish. The humour is local and translates better if you have some knowledge of the slang being used.

There are screens which provide subtitles at each side of the stage which translates most of the non-English dialogue, but since I understood most of the Hokkien being spoken, I do feel that the essence of the dialogue is lost in translation. 

Pro-Tip: To read the subtitles without straining your neck, it is best to avoid getting seats from the first few rows. If getting Category 1 tickets, I would say it is best to get seats from the 5th row onwards.

I thought it was a nice touch that Madam Oon Ah Chiam had a small cameo at the end of the play talking about her desire to pass on her passion and craft of street opera to future generations. The petite lady looked tiny next to the cast during curtain call even though she was wearing tall wedges.

Cast of Titoudao & Madam Oon Ah Chiam

The play had many laugh out loud moments and it was riveting from start to finish. I suppose the narratives about Madam Oon's life would resonate strongly with the older folks who have lived through those decades. I must say this is a good local play to stage as part of the nation's SG50 celebrations.

Titoudao

Event Date: Thu, 5 - Sat, 14 Mar 2015; Tue - Fri: 3pm & 8pm; Sat & Sun: 3pm
Venue: Drama Centre Theatre