A review of Hitting (On) Women (Singapore)

I admit I was one of those people who were present at the Theatre Idols reading earlier this year. So the play wasn’t new to me. But this version was, and despite some unexpected directorial choices, I enjoyed and appreciated its art. Now, Hitting (On) Women is one of those things you just have to experience for yourself in whatever form. At the reading I remember being stung with shock as each revelation rolled in. The very foundations of the story became rather unstable, which was tremendous fun. Watching the reading was helpful as I was able to put both renditions beside each other and let different emotions shine in the interplay. This version, although less subtle in some ways, did illuminate certain aspects by carving them in stark relief. It was a very physical, tangible performance, and that helped to bring out the power of its words.

What particularly amazed me was how incredibly intense it was. Hitting is a play that really lives in the characters, and it works well when viewed as a character-driven story. That’s not to say that the plot is lacking, for this highly psychological play has layers and takes us on a ride into the human psyche. As truths unravel, the innocent theatregoer may unwittingly find their own covers peeling back. At the same time, we never really know the characters, and chances are that every member of the audience will see the big picture in a different light.

This is where the acting plays a part. Janice Koh does a fabulous job of portraying the lead character’s inner life, and Serene Chen’s performance winds over and around it, albeit in a rather loud way, providing a foil for the woman’s desperation. I cannot imagine what it takes for these two actors to go through this performance after performance; it must be draining, although such a feat is expected of a professional. Watching them act it out, I (who only have a nodding acquaintance with the stage) realised that this is the power of live theatre. The rest of the cast provide solid dramatic and comic support as well. Admiration and appreciation aside, I suppose that criticism can be levelled at the choice of making Karen a butch character, thus rehashing some unfortunate stereotypes. The possible interracial relationship was also ellided for some reason.

The lighting and the set were commendable in creating an introspective world. I was glad to be seeing characters and scenes in the flesh, as it were. On the other hand, I missed the minimalistic setting of the reading that left more to the imagination. Back then, the bareness meant that I was hearing voices echoing back and forth in the imaginative space of my own head, and I felt that I could temporarily share in the internal world of the lead character in a claustrophobic inner space. For that reason, the horror may have been greater, magnified by virtue of its internalisation. Perhaps because I have seen a similar scene on the near-empty stage, it was a delight to see the contours gaining definition in this rendition.

Something my mind has insisted on hanging onto through both performances has been the idea of how the past doesn’t go away. This probably coalesces in the image of the childlike woman atop huge furniture being alternately shy, coy, wistful, and angry. It is the picture of a woman, grown up and grown away, but partially stunted inside by experiences she can never entirely leave behind. I thought I saw, just below the surface, a plethora of emotion from a younger version of the self, emotions more genuine for having come from a place of innocence. Something in this dynamic resonated with me. When she said a line about people never really changing, I felt a momentary sympathetic desperation that rose, and, clenching, subsided. Halfway through the play, I wondered if anyone could not feel the strange lure and odd safety of that terrifying cliff. How one exorcises the past… I think that’s important.

Other imprints I carried away: Abstraction, pain, the sensation of being lost; subjectivity, and madness in the midst of subjectivity.

Back to the event, there was a little surprise at the end when roses mixed with undergarments and a stray chrysanthemum somehow found their way– I mean, were thrown, onto the stage courtesy of Jean and the Sayoni folk. The cast seemed entertained. Then there was a Q&A, with very astute questions being produced by the audience, such as the one directed at Serene Chen’s “swagger” when very few butch lesbians do so, as someone claimed. It was a pretty eventful matinee, and hopefully a thoughtful one for all concerned.

Hitting (On) Women by Ovidia Yu
DATES & TIME
10 – 19 August 2007
8pm daily plus 3pm on Sat & Sun
No performance on Mon

VENUE The Room Upstairs @ 42 Waterloo Street
TICKET PRICES Sat-Sun, 3pm: $30 Tue-Thu & Sun, 8pm: $35 Fri & Sat, 8pm: $40
Free Seating Free Seating Available from SISTIC