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The Star
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
All gloved up: award-winning absurdist play 'Le Tabouret' heads to Penang
The play begins with an empty stage. As it progresses, a man and a woman – both well, well on in years – fill the space with chairs for their guests. Though invisible to the audience, the couple engage enigmatically with those who arrive until everyone turns to see the entrance of an orator. In his tragic farce production entitled Les Chaises (French for The Chairs ), Romanian-French playwright Eugene Ionesco claimed that 'we all live in illusion' and recognising meaningless is the only meaningful thing that can be done. Now, this 1952 play is being adapted by three local arts groups and is travelling to George Town, Penang this month. The atmospheric theatre show will run at Auditorium A, Komtar, George Town from June 13–15. Le Tabouret or The Stool dives into the melancholy world of two retired Chinese glove puppeteers as they confront a command seemingly from the divine, abandonment and the nearing end of their days. No strings attached Chinese glove puppetry, which is also known as 'potehi', originated in Fujian, China in the 17th century and is believed to have come to Penang over 100 years ago. Using small but elaborate hand puppets that range from 25cm to 35cm in height, the uniqueness of this artform stems from the absence of strings controlling the characters from above. 'Le Tabouret', adapted from Eugene Ionesco's seminal absurdist work, tells the story of stage characters Chen Yulian and Zhang Ming, two retired glove puppeteers. Photo: Weng Hong This traditional entertainment became popular during festivals as it was more cost effective than hiring an opera troupe and also required less time and preparation to set up. Le Tabouret director and scriptwriter Dylan Yeo, from Kuala Lumpur-based D Yang Productions, says the idea of centring the adaptation around a stool rather than the original chairs came from here. 'The reason I chose a stool instead of a chair is because it resonates with traditional Chinese puppetry performances. These are often held during festivals or god-praying events, where typically only stools are placed in front of the stage,' says Yeo. 'To honour this tradition and pay homage to the roots of the original script, I decided to name the piece in French,' he adds. The decision to change the title to a singular form also stems from refocusing the play around a dying traditional art. 'I used the singular form ( Le Tabouret ) to symbolise that – although there may be many stools – ultimately, only one remains to support both the performers and the art form itself,' he says. At last year's Boh Cameronian Awards, Teoh (left) won Best Actor (Theatre) for her role in 'Le Tabouret', presented by Zahim Albakri. Photo: KakiSeni Like other traditional art forms like Chinese silk embroidery and signboard making, there has been an apparent decline in potehi in recent times due to more accessible and modernised entertainment. The appearance of these art forms nowadays, however, almost always strikes a nostalgic chord with those who grew up with them. 'As an art creator, this art form holds a special place in my heart. Every year during the Ghost Festival, my parents would bring me around different parts of the city to take part in the celebrations,' says Yeo. 'While they were busy praying, I would find myself drawn to the Chinese puppetry performances happening nearby. 'As I grew older and started doing research, I realised this once-vibrant tradition is slowly fading away; becoming less visible, almost as if it's disappearing into thin air,' he laments. To ponder more deeply into the loss of an art form, Le Tabouret follows Chan Yuk Lian and Cheong Meng, two elderly, retired glove puppeteers who are struggling with late-life loneliness and the demise of their craft. Since receiving support from the Krishen Jit Fund in December 2022, Yeo has watched the show grow and move onto a bigger stage. Photo: Dylan Yeo Amidst this backdrop, Chan suddenly receives a divine revelation and, determined to share it, she summons a gathering at her home by channeling the oracle through a spirit medium. Though this development hints at hope and reconnection, audiences would be wise to brace themselves for a rough road (and perhaps, end) for the two protaganists if the adaptation stays true to the original play. 'What begins as an act of salvation slowly unravels into a revelation of humanity's absurd core. 'When traditional arts are abandoned by time and faith is deconstructed by reality, can we still find an anchor for existence in the void?' the play's creators question. Visiting potehi land Le Tabouret held an experimental premiere in 2022 in Selangor and, after receiving support from the Krishen Jit Fund later that same year, was officially staged at the Five Arts Centre in Kuala Lumpur in October 2023. Actor Teoh Siew Thung, who played the part of the elderly female puppeteer, was awarded Best Actor In A Leading Role (Theatre) at the 19th Boh Cameronian Arts Awards last year for her performance. The production, jointly created by D Yang Productions, Noise Performance House and Wave-Breaking Puppet Theatre, also earned three nominations at the 19th ADA Drama Awards that celebrates achievements in Malaysian Chinese theatre. 'The reason I chose a stool instead of a chair is because it resonates with traditional Chinese puppetry performances,' says Yeo. Photo: Weng Hong Taking the production on the road for the first time, the team immediately had one place in mind. 'When we first staged the show in KL, the main support I received from the Chinese puppetry community came from (experimental glove puppetry theatre troupe) Ombak Potehi, which is based in Penang. So, when it came time to plan our first out-of-town production, Penang naturally became the first place that came to mind,' says Yeo. The show will be held in Mandarin and Hokkien (yes, Penang Hokkien) with English subtitles and some changes have been made for the new location. Lee Chin Kuan, who is known for his previous roles both on stage and behind the scenes, will take over the role of the elderly male puppeteer from Fred Chan in the original production, while dancer Lim Li Jun will reprise her role of the orator. 'The performance will be in Penang Hokkien and the actors have learned traditional puppetry singing techniques. The chemistry between the actors is different now, so the backstory has been adjusted a bit,' says Yeo. 'There are also some changes with the staging, since it is a new venue with new set and lighting design, and this time, we have the musicians playing live at the back,' he adds. (Chinese glove puppetry is usually accompanied by a variety of percussion instruments and sometimes, traditional string and wind instruments.) Yeo says that the absurd theatre genre may not be as popular as on-stage comedies or musicals but he hopes Penang audiences would welcome something new. 'For me, Penang is a place where cultural appreciation remains strong – second only to KL. I hope the Penang audience can connect with the story of a puppeteer's life, which also mirrors our own journeys. 'Sometimes, the things we love may fade or get lost along the way, but we must find the strength to hold on to them,' concludes Yeo. Le Tabouret will be staged at Auditorium A in Komtar, George Town, Penang from June 13-15.
The Guardian
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Rhinoceros review – Ionesco's absurdist classic is taken around the horn
Omar Elerian clearly has an aptitude, and appetite, for European absurdism. The director and translator staged an impeccable revival of Eugène Ionesco's The Chairs three years ago at the Almeida, complete with the masterstroke casting of husband-and-wife duo Kathryn Hunter and the late Marcello Magni. Now comes his version of Ionesco's magnum opus about the dangers of conformity. This might or might not be set in Ionesco's provincial French town in which Berenger (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) becomes the hapless witness of a malaise in which humans are turning into rhinoceroses. It is dismally timely in a world of rising rightwing authoritarianism, with its critique of passivity in the face of barbarism and herd-like conformity. But where The Chairs nailed Ionesco's balance between meta-comedy and existentialist dread, this production is not as clever – or rather, it is too clever, teeming with good ideas, but slack in pace and tone. Its look suggests a laboratory experiment, perhaps sending up the logician of the play whose syllogistic reasoning is perversely employed to impede truth. Most of the cast emerge as a lineup of scientists, one of whom calls himself the 'Provocateur' (Paul Hunter) and narrates stage instructions archly. The production encapsulates the spirit of Ionesco's avant-gardism: anti-theatrical, always aware of its construction, and enlisting audience participation from the off, but the mechanics of the storytelling distract from the story itself. Our world is tucked into Ionesco's (with mentions of Gary Lineker, fomo and fake news) but the clinical white set designed by Ana Inés Jabares-Pita allows the audience to project meaning. The danger is that this results in vagueness or abstraction and the play becomes a showcase of form alone. The drama plays out like improv for a while, with actors sometimes raising eyebrows or performing narrated scenarios wryly. Berenger is the only straight man, bewildered but also emphatically playing a part, like the others. Dìrísù deliberately stays at a remove, a blank of a character, but the distancing is so great that you never feel the pervading menace and fear in this town. The audience becomes the animal herd outside; some are given kazoos and instructed to blow every time the rhinoceroses trumpet their growing presence. It is a pantomime sound, absurdist yet not unsettling. Still, there are delightful moments of silliness and some lovely clowning, with Hayley Carmichael and Hunter standing out in a cast that juggles multiple roles. Foley sounds are created along the sides of the stage to the miming of invisible props and furniture, which extend the idea of audience participation to actively imagining a scene. A superb touch comes with a cafe table built out of a tray and tablecloth held by character. An over-active photocopier in the newspaper office scene is superbly conjured with light, sound and mime. But the play is too stretched and the slowness undercuts the sense of stampeding alarm. The transformation of Berenger's friend, Jean (Joshua McGuire, robust), into a rhinoceros brings high-pitched hysteria and comedy yet without ruffling enough feathers. The unravelling of Berenger's office crush, Daisy (Anoushka Lucas), holds greater weight. But the switch to dread never comes, despite the projected close-ups and ominous music. It is a production that has all of Elerian's signature intelligence and playful imagination but is ultimately a reminder of how tricky a play this is, and how form can so easily eclipse content. At the Almeida, London, until 26 April
Telegraph
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Rhinoceros: Clever and playful –but not quite a piece for our times
Ingeniously introducing us to a provincial French town whose inhabitants morph into indomitable rhinos, when Ionesco's Rhinoceros – an allegory of individual defiance in the face of stampeding conformism – premiered in Dusseldorf in 1959, it was met with a widely reported 10-minute ovation. It valuably spoke to a Europe shaken by totalitarian horror, on the Left as well as the Right. At the 1960 London premiere, Laurence Olivier starred as the refusenik clerk Berenger, directed by Orson Welles. The Romanian-French playwright inspired Edward Bond, Caryl Churchill and others. Yet where Rhinoceros once roamed the cultural landscape, eliciting awe, along with the rest of its author's Absurdist oeuvre, these days it can seem a museum piece, a taxidermied classic. At the Royal Court in 2007, Benedict Cumberbatch earned raves playing Berenger but one reviewer noted the play had 'not survived its own occasion'. Has the critic Kenneth Tynan, who accused the 'anarchic wag' of steering drama up a 'blind alley', had the last laugh? Tynan's erudite critique of Ionesco's 'anti-theatre' is actually referenced in this archly self-aware Almeida revival which often has the dependably buffoonish Paul Hunter adopting a wry narratorial role, intoning stage-directions into a microphone and even exhorting some audience participation. Given that the liberty-taking adaptation is by director Omar Elerian, who triumphed here three years ago with a revelatory production of Ionesco's The Chairs, starring the late Marcello Magni and his wife Kathryn Hunter, the production comes armed with a persuasive confidence in its artistic mission. Presented on a minimal, mainly white set (with a raised central platform, rear-curtains, and a lot of lab coats and comically mad hair), the evening has a light, on-its-feet, deconstructed quality, the accent on multi-roling ensemble virtuosity. You don't see rhino-heads and horns sprouting, or even papier-mâché pachyderms. Instead, much is capably conveyed by sound effects (denoting the stampedes) and body language conjures the grim dehumanisation process. Joshua McGuire (big since the BBC sitcom Cheaters) memorably goes to town, contorting and bowing low, with three other cast members following suit to suggest a bestial immensity. Given how apposite the message of the play is – take your pick from the current contagions of group-think – it should straightforwardly map onto today's nightmares and tap lasting truths about human nature. But much as this version punctures the fourth-wall, for me it still lacks real punch. We are rendered complicit by larky stealth: we're asked to practice a convoluted clap that later becomes a slap of domestic violence, and, in a rather I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue flourish, selected audience-members sound on kazoos to evoke rhino roars. But it's too cosy to cause discomfort while a lot of the honoured original text comes over as plutôt wittery. As the odd man Berenger, a gentle, ruminative Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (of Gangs of London fame) comes into his own at the end, appalled as his beloved Daisy (Anoushka Lucas) starts to follow the herd before standing his ground and repeatedly bellowing 'I will not surrender' despite an attempted curtain-call around him. Still, it's the stuff of appreciative applause, and ticked-off checklists, not headline-making ovations.
