Life's A Drag
I know it is comparing apples and pears, but one can't help but inferring to and referencing last year's Emily of Emerald Hill with Margaret Chan in the spotlight as the titular protagonist.
One still vividly remembers and recalls the performance, 25 years in the making, and all the better for it. In a similar vein, returning to a career-making role, Ivan Heng dons the sarong kebaya in the ways of the matriarch 10 years after his first essay of the role. A most fitting climax and close to the 10th Anniversary celebrations of Wild Rice.
First off, both portrayals were fresh to me, having seen neither in their previous career-making performances. That said, perhaps Margaret has the benefit of my being totally new to the work, thus affording it an unbiased eye. So it was that her act blew me away for its effortless under-the-skin characterisation.
Ivan's portryal has also earned bouquets for the return to the female impersonators of Peranakan theatre, and for the good press, I had to catch it. While I would normally have booked myself a first row seat at the preview performance of a Wild Rice! production, travel plans already made forced me to book for the last performance instead. And then I fell asleep after the intermission...
That's where the comparisons start. For the thespian that Ivan is, he is no Margaret Chan. Though she herself can overact and caricaturise a role (think Masters of the Sea and some of her cameos on local TV), her Emily is seminal and legendary. So it was that hers was an under-the-skin Emily, breathed and lived. Ivan's, perhaps for the cross-dressing, came across as arch and mannered and to coin a phrase, a drag.
Beneath the make-up, under the dresses and beyond the script, one cannot help but see a man on stage. And a very nasal toned Ivan bringing to mind either Neo Swee Lin or Darius Lim. To be fair, he sashayed like the best of them, looking beautiful in the delicate and elaborate costumes and delivered a strong performance as a stronger woman in a man's world. There were occasional glimpses of acting and directorial genius, the flashbacks to her father-in-law's edicts or her childhood memories.
My seat judiciously handpicked was unfortunately partially obstructed for the set design, the stage extended to allow a series of accordion-style frames that telescoped from front to stage rear. Video projections on screens and scrims helped convey the mood of certain scenes. There were more physical props used that perhaps stole from the essence of the work. What happened to using the imagination to believe to see?
Stand-out moments in the evening did not come from the script, but were impromptu improvisational elements tossed into the mix. Breaking from the monologue but keeping in character, he admonished late-comers by asking them to stand and explain their tardiness. Members of the audience in the first row were roped into a quilt-making class and later summoned as the house help. Ivan's roving eye settled on a good-looker in the first row and the on-off stage flirtation was palpable.
Stella Kon was in the audience and pointed out for a deserving round of applause. I guess if it is good enough for her, that will do.
One still vividly remembers and recalls the performance, 25 years in the making, and all the better for it. In a similar vein, returning to a career-making role, Ivan Heng dons the sarong kebaya in the ways of the matriarch 10 years after his first essay of the role. A most fitting climax and close to the 10th Anniversary celebrations of Wild Rice.
First off, both portrayals were fresh to me, having seen neither in their previous career-making performances. That said, perhaps Margaret has the benefit of my being totally new to the work, thus affording it an unbiased eye. So it was that her act blew me away for its effortless under-the-skin characterisation.
Ivan's portryal has also earned bouquets for the return to the female impersonators of Peranakan theatre, and for the good press, I had to catch it. While I would normally have booked myself a first row seat at the preview performance of a Wild Rice! production, travel plans already made forced me to book for the last performance instead. And then I fell asleep after the intermission...
That's where the comparisons start. For the thespian that Ivan is, he is no Margaret Chan. Though she herself can overact and caricaturise a role (think Masters of the Sea and some of her cameos on local TV), her Emily is seminal and legendary. So it was that hers was an under-the-skin Emily, breathed and lived. Ivan's, perhaps for the cross-dressing, came across as arch and mannered and to coin a phrase, a drag.
Beneath the make-up, under the dresses and beyond the script, one cannot help but see a man on stage. And a very nasal toned Ivan bringing to mind either Neo Swee Lin or Darius Lim. To be fair, he sashayed like the best of them, looking beautiful in the delicate and elaborate costumes and delivered a strong performance as a stronger woman in a man's world. There were occasional glimpses of acting and directorial genius, the flashbacks to her father-in-law's edicts or her childhood memories.
My seat judiciously handpicked was unfortunately partially obstructed for the set design, the stage extended to allow a series of accordion-style frames that telescoped from front to stage rear. Video projections on screens and scrims helped convey the mood of certain scenes. There were more physical props used that perhaps stole from the essence of the work. What happened to using the imagination to believe to see?
Stand-out moments in the evening did not come from the script, but were impromptu improvisational elements tossed into the mix. Breaking from the monologue but keeping in character, he admonished late-comers by asking them to stand and explain their tardiness. Members of the audience in the first row were roped into a quilt-making class and later summoned as the house help. Ivan's roving eye settled on a good-looker in the first row and the on-off stage flirtation was palpable.
Stella Kon was in the audience and pointed out for a deserving round of applause. I guess if it is good enough for her, that will do.