W!ld Rice - Animal Farm

My photoshop is rebelling from all the abuse that I have inflicted upon it so for pictures and also another review, you can visit youth.sg. Or you could stay here and hear me rave.

The actors were fantastic! They were the cast with the most synergy that I've ever come across. It's already a daunting task to be brilliant, but to build upon that and support each other, feed off each others' energy, complement each other so seamlessly and magically, just made the play incredible to watch. The animal cries, one after another, together, in different pitches, different tones, varied volume, made me feel as though I was in an actual farm. Every single one of them gave impressive performances it would be unfair to pick a favourite. Their presence on stage was really powerful and that's coming from the person sitting at the very last row and high up on the mezzanine.

Okay fine I particularly liked Lim Yu-Beng and Pam Oei.

I prefer "real life" stuff. I'm not one for fairy tales and I keep a distance from sci-fi and fantasy when it comes to TV. In fact I was a little uncomfortable at the beginning. But when the entire thing ended, I saw the beauty in using the animal world to parallel humanity. I understood George Orwell's brilliance, that he had created a story that transcended time and culture.

I have been reading too much news for my own good in recent times because of the nature of my job and some parts of the play hit too close to home. The truth was so glaring that it made me feel kinda weirded out at times.

Yes, it's about the relationship between the ruler and ruled. It's such a powerful theme, one that Animal Farm has come close to being unrivaled in its exploration.

I need to read the book.

I enjoyed the discussion that followed after. I think everyone went off the deep end, especially the kiddies with their, "what does this mean?!" Ivan Heng impressed with his eloquence and worldliness. The way he carried himself... he was such an inspiration. Thoughtful, nurturing, confident. He used theatre to share how he saw the world and in the process, opened our eyes. For that I am thankful.

Looking forward to catching Boeing Boeing if I manage to get tickets! Why must plays be so expensive!