14 Feb

Went for INVASION by Bound theatre today :D

Bound theatre. Check them out! :)
They have put in loads of effort and thought into this production, and that by itself is really precious and memorable for me.
I have this urge to go for the last show on 15 Feb, just so I can understand it better the second time. Ah, but money. My wallet cries from starvation. :<

It's that kind of performance whereby you get many symbols and good strong moments, but right after the play ends you are not quite sure of what to conclude from it.

It may be that my brain doesn't function well enough,

But when the dialogue session started I was more interested in hearing what others thought of it than to try to digest what I just saw.

It's so rich, so open, so... Deep.

There of course is no model answer, for different people perceive things differently.

I really liked certain moments, like when YanShan (I think) dialed to talk about the birds she saw, and that she didn't really notice them until they were everywhere.

Gradually, she got conditioned to think that she was the one seeing things, and she ended that scene with a powerful 'has anyone ever told you that you have a comforting voice?'. 

It was a line that was shallow, but impactful.

She wanted to believe it, the person on the phone wanted her and the others to believe it, no one wanted to delve deeper. They were afraid of the unknown. They were afraid of the consequences following the truth. Or, they just couldn't believe something so absurd. They were blind to things they cannot comprehend. Sound familiar? Humans tend to draw conclusions or ignore things which are complex or out of their circumference of understanding.

Another scene I liked would be when Ping tried to grab the vulgar girl (can't rmb her name... Hehe) and he couldn't. He had lost his physical being. I of course still cannot comprehend the significance of this scene, but I'm guessing it means that he is slowly slipping away into nothingness... And uh....

Another scene would be when his twin An evolved into a minor just like the others towards the end of the performance. The physical part of their acting is definitely commendable. They truly look like the minors we see here in Singapore, and their ensemble scenes are pretty tight too.

But all these are shallow opinions about the play I just watched.

In the handout, it's stated that this play was written to get the audience to see and think about Singapore, our sense of identity, and pretty much the issues at hand.

One of the audience pointed out that minors could be interpreted as pests, symbolic of foreigners as well as Singaporeans in Singapore.

Definitely, the anti-foreign sentiments in Singapore are pretty strong and is a debatable topic. Like Mr An said, we were all foreigners at some point who came to settle in Singapore. Since when did we become the majority, forming 'Singapore'? So then. Why the hate for foreigners?

Perhaps it's due to the fact that we were here 'first'. Maybe cause we stayed here longer than they did. Maybe cause we see foreigners coming to Singapore as people who take advantage of the country's currency and welcoming of foreigners as a way to save up money to improve their lives back home.

Perhaps we feel used. That it's unfair. 

Hmmm.

I feel like I haven't gotten to the essence of the play yet.

There's so much to think about;

Why did the girl swear so much? Significance of how restrained and conservative Singapore is, so much so that it extends to the type of language we use? 

What do the birds signify? People who flew here, or people who are trying to fly away? A virus? Pests? 

What does the reverse evolution signify? With an improvement in our lifestyles, are our hearts becoming smaller and less forgiving? Are we becoming more narrow-minded and less accepting? Therefore, is humanity deteriorating?

Why did the mum suddenly 'spoil' and the doctor tries to get Damien Pang out of it, out of what? Does it signify how society values reality over intangible memories?

.
I have many more questions that haven't yet formed or be phrased
.

.

I wouldn't say that the play was unclear; the fact that it's so open to interpretation is what makesit so... Interesting.

There of course are endless possibilities to every scenario and action we saw, but right now...

Right now...

I need more time in the shower, on the bus, on the bench with my favorite tree and wind... And think.

Or not think.

Its almost 3am right now and I'm still helping bro with his valentine cookies for tomorrow. Or today. 15 Feb.
Gosh, perception of time gets messed up when you try to be a vampire. 

A ton of stuffs to be done sits on my desk.

But I ain't regretting it. :D
In fact, I really enjoyed it.

There's just... So much to think about