Flyer of suitCASES
The first detail on the facebook page of this multi-disciplinary performance from The Finger Players says ‘The same team behind 0501 (President’s Design Award 2007 winner) concocts another stunning piece of visual theatre in an intimate setting.’
While its predecessor (0501) was a raw exploration of multi-disciplinary collaboration which put usually supporting functions such as light/sound/set designers at the driving seats of theatre creation (accompanied with dislocating audience view by bringing them in via loading bay of Victoria theatre and seating them on stage to face the vast audience area), suitCASES has a more polished presentation and lot more narratives.
The strength of the collaboration was best showcased in the opening sequence. Four casts moved quietly across the stage made of multi-level scaffolding, moving with them objects in shapes of ships, air plane and people. Their well choreographed routes were conducted under beautiful lighting and luscious soundscape, calmly shifting the ‘people’ across the 3-D space on stage. For many moments during this opening sequence, I imagined the four casts as some higher beings ensuring the harmonious operation of the lego-like world.
It was a feast to watch.
The opening sequence ended with three objects raised to the top of the scaffolding. The centre piece took the shape of three blocks of Marina Bay Sand crowned by a ship-like top. That instantly prompted me to interpret the other two as symbols of Singapore – the vertical wheel on the left looked like Singapore Flyer; the airplane on the right, well, Singapore Airline.
Hmmm …
I later realised that would be the tone of the narratives.
Four casts in turn delivered a narrative on their individual struggles through this lego-like world, deploying puppetry, shadow play, suitcases, sound, light … except dialogue. The synopsis on facebook page reads ‘On a strange and yet familiar city-island, a group of travellers drift about, but are ever-so-ready to fulfil their obligations in life. They breathe but they can’t fill the void within. A howl is heard from afar, sensual and primitive. The travellers embark on a journey in search of this calling.’
That’s pretty much what I saw. Literally.
In this multi-disciplinary performance that appears to exclude playwright as part of the design, the narrative spoke too much but invoked too little. It was as if all the elements were trying to do the job for the missing dialogues. The absence of a playwright was voluminous in this performance.
That same absence was not felt in 0501.
Maybe that was a more true blue designers case.
