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>various gangsters by spell#7 >reviewed by sherrie lee >date:
6 sep 2002 >tired
already? go home then |
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I was expecting gangsters but I got philosophers. Directed by Paul Rae, spell#7's twelfth performance was chockfull of text, ranging from intriguing to down right lewd. You might think VARIOUS GANGSTERS was about sex and violence. There were some references but the central theme was really about creating an alternative existence to the "passion spent, money spent" lives we live. That was the premise, that was how it started, and then there was none. The opening act had the four performers - Enlai Chua, Norlina Mohammed, Ben Slater and Kaylene Tan - play with mattresses, using them as backdrop as if each of them was the main figure on a playing card. Emphatic in delivery, each performer took turns to wax lyrical about our current state of life - "swimming with the sharks", "moving but not travelling", "necessary but ugly". |
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To the performers' credit, the performance of the text was intense, especially during parts when hand gestures complimented the story. Fingers would curl, point and draw shapes and palms would sway while a story was being told. On the other extreme, gesturing became hilarious when Norlina started lip-synching, complete with facial exaggerations, to a piece of music, while the rest moved their hands to the beat. Other movements
were plain weird. |
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I wish I
had seen more gangsters. The philosophers were getting too engrossed in
storytelling and mattress-dancing. |