Theatre Review on Business Times( Singapore)

Published August 13, 2010

Beautiful feast for the eyes and ears

By NATALIE KOH

THE audience was plunged into darkness, making it seem as though there was nothing but pin-drop silence for company. Then, the sound of rain came in. A slight drizzle at first, before it grew into the roar of a heavy downpour and the curtains opened, revealing a gorgeous, slanted set, which proved to be highly useful in the later scenes.

Unwavering: The play's script was peppered with cheesy quotes but all the artistes delivered their lines with conviction The gala performance of Toy Factory's December Rains last Friday night was, in a word, beautiful.

Act One shows a young romance foiled by parental disapproval, political tension, wasted dreams and the breakdown in communication; Act Two fastforwards 30 years and shows how the failed romance had adversely affected the parties involved, namely the lovers - Li Qing (Kit Chan) and Ying Xiong (George Chan) - and their close friend Ming Li (Jeffrey Low).

Though the script was peppered with cheesy quotes, the unwavering cast delivered their lines with conviction. Kit Chan's voice, unsurprisingly, wowed the audience from the very first song she sang until the end of the show, and George Chan was perfectly convincing both as an idealistic youth and a world-weary man.

But the one who stole the show was Low, with his tearjerking portrayal as the loyal friend haunted by a mistake for decades. His performance as a victimised character evoked empathy and managed to draw a few sniffles from the audience in the last scene.

Director Goh Boon Teck managed great usage of the stage space and lighting, using spotlights to highlight stances and opinions that certain characters had. To represent rain, a recurring motif, Goh made creative use of string curtains, which passed off surprisingly well as rainfall.

The musical was visually endearing throughout, but one scene is worth commendable mention and that is when Ming Li stood singing in front of a line of string curtains while a body double performed a lyrical dance behind. At one point, the two stood diagonally across each other, turning the curtains into a mirror, and the entire stage set into a dance studio.

Set design by Eucien Chia helped in this, of course, as the slanted pillars made the set versatile and timeless, suitable for any setting in both acts. This, together with the apt costume designs by Lai Chan and the artistic direction of Goh, made the entire production a feast for the eyes.

Even the music was well-written and well-executed so that the soundtrack would be worth listening to if you missed the show.

However, the dance moves in the first act could have been sharper, as the dancers didn't quite portray the determination of students brave enough to participate in a riot.

But what makes a production worth watching is that it leaves a mark on the audience, which is exactly what December Rains managed to do. The theme of the show revolves around love and wasted time, and when it ended, the audience walked away feeling reflective about their lives and youth.

'December Rains' is on until Aug 15, but with only single seats left. Tickets are available at $69 to $129 at Sistic