Today: 'V' for Victory (Oct 5)

`V' for victory
A lively, comedic takeon a quiet classic:
Mayo Martin
mayo@mediacorp.com.sg


YOU'VE seen one, you've seen them all, the saying goes. Not so with
this version ofThe Vagina Monologues (TVM).

Despite this reviewer's initial doubts on the wisdom of choosing an
arguably over-exposed piece as an inaugural production for new
theatre company Zebra Crossing, director Loretta Chen has admirably
eschewed conventions for a unique take on TVM (which is not an easy
thing considering how notoriously hands-on the playwright Eve Ensler
is).

Instead of three performers, there are nine. Sombre and minimalist?
No, thank you, we're having fun.

Hence, monologues are shuffled around, public service announcements
flashed onscreen along with video interviews of three prominent
theatre personalities on motherhood, a clinical "vagina workshop" is
re-imagined as an army bootcamp led by a hyperactive drill sergeant
with a French accent, shrill "schoolgirls" descend on the audience
waving their (unused) sanitary napkins, and, seemingly out of
nowhere, someone actually does a sexy pole dance. Naughty,
naughty ...

Barring uneven scene transitions, (opening night jitters, most
likely) TVM was without a doubt a lively theatrical ride. There was
a conscious effort to localise the experience, with phrases in
Tamil, Malay and Chinese dialects thrown around.

That said, the flashy approach tends to occasionally distract,
diffusing some of the more intimate, disturbing moments of what is
by nature a confessional piece of text.

Despite a few over-the-top moments, new talent Eleine Ng showed a
flair for the comedic with her scene depicting the various ways of
moaning.

Soul singer Asha Edmund's own spiels on, er, hair "down there" and
how to pronounced "c**t" were tight and snappy. Transsexual Elnina
recounting a transformative experience was a bit too dramatic but
intense, nevertheless.

My favourite was veteran actress Loke Loo Pin deadpanning her way
through a monologue as a dignified old lady recounting her first
sexual awakening. Too shy to even say the word "vagina", she flashes
a "V" sign instead — which could very well stand for the
word "victory", too.

While Chen's approach was a little too much for a play whose power
lies in the intimacy that monologues offer, we're inclined to give
it a "V" sign for being fun and, more important, fresh.

The Vagina Monologues runs until Oct 12,8pm, at Drama Centre
Theatre,National Library. With 3pm matinees.Tickets from $17 to $57
at Sistic. Rating: R18.

ST: Joy and tears of being women (Oct 4)

Oct 4, 2008
Joy and tears of being women
From first menstrual cramps to love and sex, this feminist play is
fun-filled and thoughtful
By tara tan

reviewtheatre
THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
Zebra Crossing
Drama Centre Theatre @ National Library
Last Thursday

This is Dim Sum Dollies-meets-Oprah - stories about love, family and
sex doused with tears and showered with laughter.

Eve Ensler's landmark play, The Vagina Monologues, played here by nine
women, is a series of vignettes that grapple with female issues from
domestic abuse to the first menstrual cramp.

Directed by Loretta Chen, this play had no qualms about its anti-men
slant: Father figures or male lovers are largely absent in this play.

Powerful feminist statements were made, such as chanting a certain
derogatory word (that rhymes with 'aunt') to reclaim it as a word of
worth.

Although the pacing in the first half was jerky, it hit a home run
with Loke Loo Pin's monologue, Because He Liked To See It. Playing an
elderly woman coming to terms with her vagina, a word she can't even
bring herself to say, Loke's deadpan humour - delivered with
impeccable comic timing - was a lethal combination.

Another very funny scene was between a lesbian sex worker (played by
Sabrina Chong) and a geeky girl on the cusp of sexual discovery
(Eleine Ng) with their inventory of orgasmic soundtracks.

In another scene, transsexual Elnina's brutally honest telling of the
trials and tribulations she endures was heartbreaking. The inclusion
of this monologue, taken from another of Ensler's plays, added a
significant dimension to this work.

Elizabeth Tan's young girl who goes through childhood sexual abuse but
finds salvation with an older woman in The Coochie Snorcher That Could
gave me mixed feelings, however.

Presented as a Dear Diary monologue, the text was hard-hitting but Tan
seemed joyfully detached from her past. Having said that, the actress
later put in an emotional turn in the role of an abused wife.

However, the series of short monologues sometimes felt too abrupt,
with its transitions shaky and irreverent. The music was also often
overly sentimental.

It did not seem as hard-hitting as previous versions staged in
Singapore. For instance, the scene dealing with genital mutilation was
played out with a video on butchery and accompanied with statistics.
In Li Xie's The Vaginalogue in 2003, which was based on the same play,
Li carved and sewed up a hunk of raw meat on stage, a visceral image
that is seared in my memory still.

Kudos to Chen for letting her nine performers' individual
personalities shine through. Most women would be able to identify
facets of themselves in them.

Also, intriguing directorial decisions gave this piece an added edge,
like how wealthy socialities laughingly exchanged stories of spousal
abuse at a lush party.

The Vagina Monologues is an enjoyable, fun and thoughtful production,
a should-see for women and their men.

taratan@sph.com.sg

watch it

THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES

R18 (Adult Content & Strong Language)

Who: Zebra Crossing
When: Till Oct 12, 8pm (no shows on Monday), Sat & Sun matinees at 3pm
Tickets: $17 to $57 from Sistic (log on to www.sistic.com.sg or call
6348-5555)

ST: 8 questions with... Loretta Chen (Sept 29)

Sep 29, 2008
8 questions with... Loretta Chen
Wild thing
First, an Annabel Chong play. Now, The Vagina Monologues. Loretta Chen
is big on taboos
By tara tan

Theatre director Loretta Chen, 31, is a political animal who pushes
boundaries on and off the stage.

Her controversial play about Singaporean porn star Annabel Chong, 251,
got people talking when it was staged in April last year.

She is also an active member of the Young PAP and posed questions
about censorship to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew at a youth dialogue
last year.

Chen was recently nominated by DrTeo Ho Pin, mayor of North West
district, to be in the North West Community Development Corporation's
executive committee.

Her current project is Eve Ensler's feminist play, The Vagina
Monologues, which opens on Wednesday. The play also marks the
inaugural show of her new company, Zebra Crossing.

Here is a little-known fact: She is also the baby sister of television
actor Edmund Chen.

'As a 10-year-old, I used to tag along to all his filming sessions,'
chuckled Chen, who is 14 years younger than her brother.

'That was what got me hooked on performances: seeing my big brother
turn into someone else on screen.'

Born to a clerk and a housewife, Chen, who grew up in a two-room flat
in Tanglin Halt, calls herself 'a complete accident'.

'My dad was 41 and my mum was 39 when they had me. Eric, my second
eldest brother, is only three years apart from Edmund,' said Chen.

She went on to study theatre studies at the National University of
Singapore, where she now teaches part-time while pursuing her
doctorate on queer performances staged in Singapore.

In 1999, she headed to University of London's Royal Holloway for her
master's, before starting on her doctorate at the University of
California in Los Angeles where she lived for over two years.

She returned to Singapore in 2002 and went on to garner a Life!
Theatre Awards nomination for Best Director for Ten Brothers, a cheeky
retelling of a Chinese folktale about 10 siblings who each possesses a
different superpower.

1. What draws you to controversial plays?

I am drawn to material which is overlooked in mainstream society and I
question why people react to it that way.

The contents often centre on fascinating personalities such as strong
women, as well as issues I feel very much for.

2. I hear you are quite superstitious. Is that why you are dressed in
all white today?

Yes, my geomancer told me it is my lucky colour. I just thought, what
the heck. I bought a white car, lots of white clothes, then white
shoes and white bags to match.

When I was harbouring thoughts of starting a theatre company, I got my
fortune told in a temple in China that said I should start my business
with my close friends, which I did.

3. Why name your theatre company Zebra Crossing?

(Laughs) I have a theory for that. We spend a lot of time on the road,
where people have little patience or much space.

At zebra crossings, however, traffic ceases to exist and only people
matter. No matter how important the driver is or how big the car, you
have to stop for the pedestrian.

Zebra Crossing will produce all sorts of theatre, from Broadway
musicals to newly commissioned works.

4. What does theatre mean to you?

When I was studying in California in 2002, my partner committed
suicide. Theatre, in a way, helped me deal with this very difficult
time. I was able to look at it as if it was a scene from my life's play.

Sometimes, when something melodramatic happens to you, you need to be
able to distance yourself and look at it with some objectivity.

5. What was your childhood like?

I grew up in a working-class family but I always had enough even
though we were not very rich. The house was full of love.

I never felt poorer than my classmates, who were always jetting off on
holidays to the United States or Europe.

I had nice pencil cases and birthday parties at McDonald's. Thinking
back, all these must have cost my parents quite a bit but they gave
them to me so I was never in want of anything.

6. What do you think makes a strong woman and do you think of yourself
as one?

To me, a strong woman is someone who says she can do anything she puts
her mind to. Sometimes, it takes more strength to be able to say you
are wrong or you are not good at something.

As a director, I rely on my collaborators. I have ideas but need
talented people to carry them out. We directors are useless without
them behind us.

7. What made you join the Young PAP?

If you want to make a change, you have to actively make it and that
means working within the political avenues.

Some people get quite disheartened, cynical and feel powerless because
they keep criticising from the outside.

I say: Jump in and fight for what you believe in. Theatre is a great
platform for me to be politically aware and socially involved while
still being creative.

8. Complete this sentence. If I could live my life all over again,
Iwould...

Not change it at all. I needed to go through my life the way I did.

On a lighter note, however, I wished I went for my bunion operation
earlier. I am going for it next month but now my feet look funny.

taratan@sph.com.sg

book it

THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
(Rated R18 for adult content and strong language)

Who: Zebra Crossing
When: Wednesday to Oct 12 (except Mondays and Sundays) at 8pm.
Matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm
Where: Drama Centre Theatre @ National Library Building
Tickets: $17 to $57 from Sistic (log on to www.sistic.com.sg or call
6348-5555)