Peter Cat blogs

Jump to Comments

‘It’s about a psychotic breakdown and what happens to a person’s mind when the barriers which distinguish between reality and different forms of imagination completely disappeared, so that you no longer know the difference between your waking life and your dream life. And also you no longer know where you stop, and the world starts.‘ (Sarah Kane)

In every aspect, this is a difficult play to do. The text is deep, sanity and madness follows in tandem; and the spurs of humour, black. The subject matter, the most obvious being suicide is a taboo to talk about, much less to dwell into and to analyse. How does one stage a play penned by a woman who killed herself? How does one do it justice, without either sensationalising it with bleakness or to overcompensate by overemphasising on the pockets of hopefulness? One who walks into such a production cannot expect to be entertained. It never plans to amuse, nor is it made for enjoyment.

Many a times, I cant feel the connection with the character in the script as i felt Jing trying to steep herself in madness, is feebly trying. Trained in physical theatre, emoting a woman in pain on her face and in her voice falls short at times, creating a distance, a gulf that removes the audience from the apt black box setting. Lighting creates an ominous mood that syncs well. The sound effects however appears too jarring. Seeking an experience into psychosis is not an easy ride. I wince, I flinch, I edge deeper into my seats and dig my fingers into the fabrics of the seats and wish for it to end, not that I didnt like the performance but there are moments so real I was convinced I am seeing Jing in her most wretched self. I cannot look away.

Despite parts that are simply inaccessible, I find it impossible not to applaud the genuine effort and craft of the performance. This is a rare piece of literary work that lays bare one’s wound for the world to scrutinise.

Be kind.

By The Theatre Practice
Performed by Kuo Jing Hong in the Drama Centre Black Box
16-26 July 2009