Screwed

so yesterday i went to catch the preview of Screwed, the latest production by The Oral Stage. Screwed, like its predecessors eight, Rojak! and fiftynineminutes, is a series of several short plays and monologues that bring to the stage both the unconventional and the familiar, all with a good story to tell.

perhaps the most impressive thing about The Oral Stage’s shows are that they’re all completely directed, produced, written and performed by the notorious young ones (i say this like i’m really old) at The Oral Stage. to act out a character in a piece with conviction and talent is challenging enough, let alone writing an original piece that promises to titillate, or successfully jigsawing together an entire production! some adults cant even do this right. ahh, power to the young. i love it!

Screwed is comprised of 10 performances, and imma attempt to summarise them here (without spoiling too much) for your benefit, coz i want everyone to go watch Screwed, because not only is it totally worth it, MY BEST FRIEND IS ALSO IN IT!!!!!!!!!!

*beams with pride*

okay okay seriousness, seriousness.

the first piece is The Colour Green, which explores jealousy and unconditional love. written by Davina Goh, we’re shown a story of two characters in love, but what happens when one of them has conditions for what is thought to be an unconditional love? is unconditional love a universal absolute or does it have its varied stages and versions?

The Tortoise and The Hare is an insight into the backstabbing and cruelty of the dog-eat-dog career world. Tortoise is the socially-inept office recluse who eats lunch alone in her cubicle, and Hare is the pencilskirt-wearing power woman who knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. Emily Yoon (aka KL’s Sandra Oh) who plays the Tortoise completely steals the show with her stellar performance as a stuttering and shy introvert who’s trying hard to make herself heard above her oppressive colleagues.

Lam Wai Yee and Lee Wai Min both star in The Silent Piece, an eerie and sympathetic short that brings us into the depths of a girl’s trauma. this piece i felt had by far the best acting of the entire Screwed series, and i’m not just saying this coz waimin is my best friend, haha. waimin is as usual, effortlessly wonderful and i love that at many points in The Silent Piece, she wasnt afraid to let loose and really free herself from her inhibitions and self consciousness in order to really bring out her character. she was so good, that you could NOT tell she was only casted for this piece less than 4 days prior to the show. as for Wai Yee, she was the one who did the monologue of an actress transiting flawlessly between 3 different accents in TOS’s previous production fiftynineminutes. i remember being totally in awe when i watched her show last year! with Wai Yee, it’s all about the little things that she brings to her performances that makes them so amazing. in this particular piece, it’s all in her eyes, the slight shuddering of the shoulders, the tensing of the toes; pure genius.

my beautiful regret is a monologue so dark and disturbing, that i wasnt too surprised when i was told it was written by Gavin Yap. presented by Brananannanana (Branavan Aruljothi, last seen in The Breakfast Club) in his boxers, this piece is an expose of vulnerability and heartbreak and of times long gone. i really do feel that Branavan brought a sense of reality to the piece, i loved that it wasnt over-the-top like a lot of people would have done it. it was a beautiful, subtle performance that successfully captured the defeatedness and sadness of the script.

Rauf Fadzilla, my fellow Ampang brethren, wrote the next short entitled The Big Joke. i heartily apologise, but i missed what the big joke is here. i’m apparently too stupid for Rauf’s writing :P nevertheless, it was a brilliant juxtapose of live and death, quiet and noise, questions and answers. there is a part in this short where Emily flips through a book of memories (made by waimin, haha it’s so cool, make sure to look closely at it coz she put in so much effort) and she reminds herself of things that have happened. soooo poignant and touching. it’s the little things that mean most.

How I Lost My Identity In 10 Minutes And Other Matters That Don’t Really Matter is awesome writing and i could totally relate!!!!!!!!! keywords : ‘xiang jiao ren’ and banana person =( Nick D is the banana person here, lamenting the lack of communication between himself and his Chinese-speaking friends and family. it’s a pretty good commentary on english-speaking people who consider themselves above their mother tongue, and how westernized our youth are becoming these days. “funny how we sign up for French classes when Mandarin classes are just next door”, says Nick’s best friend. Nick also has a professor, played by none other than the fabulous GARY OOI!!!!! muahahahhaa all of us just burst out laughing when he came onstage in typical flamboyant and manic Gary fashion. oh Gary! you will always be my Adam! twice!

next up is The Murukku Conspiracy, that is centred around traditional Indian values, love, family and neighbourly ties. i thought the use of murukku in this script was absolutely brilliant; as audience, you find yourself either agreeing with the daughter and thinking murukku is just another snack and is insignificant in the grand scheme of things, or you find yourself siding her mother who believes that murukku MUST be present at the wedding because of its role in Indian culture.

a toilet is then placed in the middle of the stage, and we are presented with Toilet Talk, written and performed by Doreen Loo. i have no words for how effortlessly Doreen pulled off this monologue. i totally loved it. it was SO entertaining and so authentic; there is not one moment your attention strays from the piece.

M for Magenta is a piece written by Gary and features himself alongside Christine Ellis and Wai Min the Awesome. what can i say, the original script was 10000 times better than what i saw onstage yesterday. a lot of the wow factor was robbed from the script after the drastic change in plot, nevertheless all 3 actors did a good job.

the final performance is called The Untitled Choral Piece and features six actors in a commentary about Malaysian driving and road safety. utterly hilarious, i LOVE it when satire on Malaysian culture and lifestyle are presented onstage, heeheehee. it was very well-written, by Kelvin Wong if i’m not wrong, and was the perfect closing to the series!

my favourite pieces : Silent Piece and Toilet Talk for the acting; How I Lost My Identity In 10 Minutes and the Untitled Choral Piece for the writing. best performances : Lam Wai Yee, Emily Yoon, Gary Ooi.

hats off to the folks at TOS. you did it again!

Screwed is showing at KLPac from today the 19th of April to Sunday the 22nd of April, at 8.30pm, with additional 3pm matinee shows on Saturday and Sunday. Ticket prices are RM27 for adults and RM17 for students. To purchase tickets, call KLPac at 03-4047 9000. folks at Penang, fret not, Screwed will be coming to Greenhall Penang from the 4th - 6th of May!

next up, Gavin Yap’s Tell-Tale Heart at the end of this month. i’m quite excited! will be there on opening night - is anyone else going?

Comments April 19th, 2007

I Don’t Have Freckles In My Eyes And Neither Do You

i bought myself a month’s time with a piece of plastic. spoke to a lady with a heavy northeastern american accent and found myself getting extremely irritated that she couldnt spell my name right despite incessant repititions. s-u-a-double-n. no no no, not w-n. DOUBLE n. not W. DOUBLE N. well FUCK THAT, it’s s-u-a-n-n!

incredulous is the emotion of the morning. i’m looking at all these people and i cant believe how calm they are. maybe it’s the eggs n’ coffee, maybe it’s the weed. or maybe it’s the fact that they will always have toilet paper on the holders and they know it. they know it, and they smirk on the inside at people on the outside who are looking in with jealousy masked by veneers of nonchalance. so even the people who dont have toilet paper on their holders look calm. everyone is calm. what gives? did i miss the memo? i definitely didnt miss the nervous flutter in my heart. and the anxiety pangs when i woke up. i clutched the pillow but it didnt comfort me. my bedsheets smelt different, like the smell of another man.

there is a certain breathlessness about how this week has been marked off the calendar. like everyone else, i’m rushing through the days blindly; pushing away hanging vines of obligation and having my face scratched by the scarring loss of opportunities. but i dont care. i dont give two shits. i just wanna get to the castle with the moat and tall towers.

i was a little bit angry tonight. i wished for a red car driven by a person with red hair to come whisk her away. and i would be left here staring daggers sideways at this other person’s left shoulder.

i came home to a quiet house buzzing with the sound of the television left on standby. kicking off my shoes, i flung myself down on the couch and sighed my hours away. if my engine overheated, who would i call? 5 minutes later i woke up startled and thinking that someone was talking to me. if my engine overheated, i would call him.

Comments April 19th, 2007