This is a late update of the review I'm so thrilled with. It was a unique theatrical experience that tried to convey the historical events of the local chinese people.
How late was it? Hmm.. Georgetown Festival was held on August. August, September, October..... and so, nearly two months! Sorry! I was so busy with something else these days~ ='(
A minimalistic theater brought by a local theatre troupe and the director from China. Yeah, minimalistic! Why? The main reason is the setting of the theater itself - the place it was held and the way it was presented. The cost is minimized, the distance between audiences and the cast is minimized, the storyline is minimized, BUT the feeling is maximized, the creativity is maximized and the lesson brought out is maximized!
How a theater can be successfully brought out in a creative way, using the limited resources?
Background/Setting
This was the only theater that I managed to catch up with during the festival. It was held at an abandoned bus station, which was renovated recently for artistic purposes. I was eagerly anticipating and walked in with full of expectations. The most recent event that I'd been was the solo gallery show by Ernest Zacharevic - Art is Rubbish; Rubbish is Art. I remembered the bus station was re-designed with plentiful of street arts and of course, full with crowds.
Street view from Google Maps
Building view from Google Maps
Speaking of the venue, I was surprised as the building itself is not spacious enough to make a proper stage. It heightened me more when the organizers have actually made the roofed space as the ticketing area, leaving spaces right behind the bus depot as the stage.
I took this photo when I was visiting the gallery. This is the right corner of the stage? Eh?
Believe me, this is exactly the stage for the theater! (Taken from The Malaysian Insider)
The night view of the space. (Taken from The Star)
Any idea how the abandoned space was transformed into a great stage? I will show you how they did!
Technically, the theater crew divided the space into as follow, bearing the risk of heavy rain (It is open-air). I was sitting legged on the wood floor. The show started. The lighting was basic and I realized, the cast did not use a mic! Yay, we were sitting real close to the cast and every single movements and sentences could be heard clearly and soundly.
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| Full floor plan unveiled! The stage was transformed live from stage 1 to 2. |
Storyline
It was claimed as a multimedia environmental theater. It combined shadow puppetry, contemporary dance, multimedia visual design, and many more surprises throughout the scenes. The intimacy of the small theater played in the town has traversed the drama's intellectual, moral, cultural roots and historical significance.
It was all started with a young man who was eagerly looking for his cultural root. The storyline has never been smooth as the cast kept giving way to audiences' cold sweat. They have been suffering from enduring the tough condition during journey wherein they traveled all the way from China to Nanyang, where their cloaked fears were bloodly presented. Live, or die, was the only choice the people able to make. The surviving people have lived peacefully when they made themselves on the ground of the destination. Later, the scenes jumped into the period of British colonialism and the cultural identities were stressed. Ironically, some of the people insisted to protect their tagged identities, some of the people temporized by receiving benefits from the other party, while some of the people remained neutral. The actors/comedians drove the characters to a greater height using their charisma. Audiences got to see what the young man see, and got to feel how the young man feel.
Now, let me amaze you with some of the photos taken from Facebook of the show (from ZXC theatre and Shipng Photography):
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| The young man who was the soul of the story |
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| People who were struggling to stay alive during the journey on the sea |
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| People started to live peacefully and mixed around with local people |
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| Shadow puppets fantasizing the cross-over and elapse of time |
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| Unveil of the Stage 2, where more nerve-wrecking scenes were played |
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| The changing of scenes was fast and appropriate |
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| Contemporary dance under the pouring rain |
Summary
The approximately 90 mins of the show was full with surprises! The creativity has undeniably made a spin on the audience's head. I particularly love the visual design and the post-show sharing session that get the cast and the audiences one step closer. The message of loving the roots of your people has been effectively delivered.
Beliefs and creativity definitely can transform nothing into something.
Even if you have nothing to laid on, you still can make something big happen if you do it wholeheartedly. It applies to all, to all of us.
1. Setting ☆☆☆☆
2. Storyline ☆☆☆
3. Cast ☆☆☆☆
4. Sound & Lighting ☆☆
5. Creativity ☆☆☆☆☆
6. Cost-friendliness ☆☆☆☆☆