SIFA 2015: Nanyang: The Musical is lost at sea
SINGAPORE — Having been inspired by the lives of the country’s pioneering artists, Nanyang: The Musical seems like the perfect Jubilee weekend offering from the Singapore International Festival Of Arts. Instead, it paints an incoherent picture that ultimately frustrates.
For one, the Mandopop-flavoured musical takes its own sweet time to actually bring us to — or even bring up — the part of the world it mentions in the title. Instead, director-writer Alec Tok takes us on a meandering voyage from Shanghai to Paris before we (eventually) reach Bali and, in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, in Singapore.
It’s not some random travel route, of course. Its story about a group of Chinese artists who find themselves moving from place to place on the eve of World War II is loosely based on actual people and historical events, such as the seminal Bali trip in 1952 by Liu Kang, Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Wen Hsi and Chen Chong Swee, and the life of the most famous of them all, the jet-setting Georgette Chen — all of whom are considered pioneers of the Nanyang style, which combined Western and traditional Chinese art techniques and subject matter.
There’s a wellspring of ideas about art and history here, yet both aspects feel rather peripheral as the show concocts an anchor narrative in the form of a love triangle: A young artist named Cheng Kang (Roy Huang), who’s smitten by the slightly older — and obvious Georgette Chen stand-in — Li Ying (Seong Hui Xuan), who in turn pines for the senior Zhang Wen (Trev Neo), who remains oblivious to her feelings.
Sure, upping the personal drama is par for the course but it sure feels like everyone had blinkers on. For a story that takes place at the brink of global war, there’s an unnerving lack of urgency or tension throughout Nanyang: The Musical. You could have mistaken the gang as members of a Chan Brothers tour package as they flit from place to place seemingly on a whim, oblivious to everything except their respective romantic conundrums. In one telling moment, when asked why he decided to join everyone in Bali, Cheng says he was simply passing time and had nothing else to do. Right.
In fact, it is in the Bali scenes where Nanyang The Musical reveals many of its fundamental flaws. For sure, one can bring up “artistic license” to explain why a landmark event, an inspiration from 1952, can be easily transported to a time before the war, but that overlooks one major point. Back in the `50s, the real Nanyang artists were in the middle of exploring their new identity during peacetime. That the musical’s artists seemingly stumble upon an idyllic paradise just seems bizarre, as if Indonesia was untouched by the impending invasion of Japan.
There are some positives, of course: The catchy tunes of the musical team (lyricist Xiaohan, composer Eric Ng and musical conductor Goh Kheng Long); the spirited efforts of a young cast led by Seong, who has had experience playing Chen in Ng Yi-Sheng’s Georgette: The Musical some years back; and flashes of inventiveness in the set design.
But with all the previously mentioned narrative and logical inconsistencies, some technical hiccups and a few more baffling artistic decisions (a Balinese woman singing and conversing in English instead of Bahasa Indonesia in a surtitle-friendly Mandarin production? Painters dancing and playing instruments but not one decent image of a Nanyang-style painting?), it’s pretty evident that Nanyang: The Musical is not quite the finished product it’s supposed to be — despite the fact that SIFA organisers had previously announced more time had been given to local commissions to prepare for this year of all years.
Back to the drawing board perhaps?
Nanyang: The Musical runs until today, 3pm and 8pm, at Drama Centre Theatre. In Mandarin with English subtitles. Tickets from SISTIC. For more information, on SIFA, visit https://sifa.sg/sifa/
