I can sort of believe this was my first play of the year.
Because it's a longish weekend for KL people (FT day today and if you managed to get Friday off), the first two nights of the run sold out but not the weekend shows, which I thought was a little weird, but great if you're mounting the show.
Salaryman Ido arrives home from an ordinary day at work to find it barricaded. He discovers that his wife and son are held hostage by an escapee from a nearby prison. The policemen are apathetic, the TV reporters are grating. As pressure mounts and time runs out, Ido embarks on a journey of revenge that would change his family forever...
THE BEE is a macabre psychological thriller about ordinary individuals who – when pushed to their limits by society – find strength through violence and absurdity. What happens when victims become aggressors, the weak become powerful, and the watcher becomes the watched? Who should take responsibility?
Malaysian premiere. Based on a 70s short story by Yasutaka Tsutsui and inspired by the 9/11 incident. The Bee premiered in London in 2006, followed by Japan the year after. Featuring Amanda Ang, Jonathan Chew, Razif Hashim, Alfred Loh, Veshalini Naidu, Bella Rahim and Nabil Zakaria. Stage managed by Asher Au, assisted by Ung Zhee Nedd. Assistant directed and dramaturged by Arief Hamizan and Esther Liew. Directed and designed by Kelvin Wong.
Because it was free seating, a line was formed minutes before the doors opened. The makcik behind me in line (with her kid) mentioned that her son had a small part in the show; since there were only two Malay guys, I had a 50-50 guess as to which one it was. She also asked me why I was there; I didn't really give her a good answer other than "just because".
Meanwhile there were people slowly streaming in for the Mak Yong version of a Shakespeare play in Pentas 1. Loads of students in attendance.
Luckily I heard there were two lanes, so I quickly went over to the other one so that I could get a seat with a decent view.. which was ultimately blocked by a big guy and his cap. All I could see was the back of this guy's head. I sat in the same row as the director, who was seated on the other end. He was laughing at the gags a second before anyone else got them. There's also floor seats if you so desire.
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The show had its funny moments and all. There was a bit where they were enacting the passage of days by going through the same tit-for-tat sequence of events multiple times, which I imagine was what the movie Groundhog Day was like, but more cringe-y. By the 6th time they went through that cycle, I was already tired of it and wanted it over with.
It's 80 minutes long (no intermission) and not for kids or the immature.
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