Critique: Rumours

8 Reasons to Watch Rumours

1) The script will make you laugh (in a good way, not the cringe-laughing you do when the announcers screw up during morning assembly), unless you suffer from some kind of disorder which prevents you from laughing.

2) (Most of) the acting was baby-butt smooth, consistently funny, exhilaratingly memorable, and most of all largely believable. I loved everyone. Ken Bevans (Luk Yean) risked being shouty at the start, but Luk Yean proved to be flexible and convincing enough that I stopped wondering why they cast such a skinny guy. Jennifer Yip (who plays Chris Bevans) managed her character's panicky frazziness proficiently, making the opening scene (which she helms) highly effective. Claire Cummings (Jesslyn Chee) was hysterical fun. Cookie Cusack (Felicia Choo) was deliciously weird-ass and meaningfully awkward, which is a lot harder to achieve than it sounds. Ernest Cusack (Look Woon Wei) was a bit too shouty for my liking, especially during the parts when he was angry (contrary to popular belief, raising one's voice is only one of the many way to express emotion) and aggrieved and sarcastic. I enjoyed Natalee Ho's rendition of Cassie Cooper (the red dress and BDSM shoes help) but was slightly disappointed that she didn't exploit the crystal rubbing scene more. Sadly, PC Conklin (Andre Lee) could have done better with more gravitas and authority, something which PC Casey (Tricia Teo) achieved very well. Glenn Cooper was played by Kenneth Loh, who is easy on the eyes but has a voice that sounds like he has something stuck in his throat. Hence the flighty lines he delivered were weighted down by the (inappropriate) slow deadpan tone, which was unfortunate. Loh also had the dubious honour of breaking character the most often, smiling every two seconds at the dialogue (although to be fair, the dialogue is comedy gold, and I caught Choo smiling at times as well). But maybe he was obvious because the rest of the cast was solidly stellar. Such wonderful chemistry too.

3) A special mention goes to Greg Alva Ng, who plays Leonard Cummings. Kinetic, momentous and orally talented as usual, Ng performed dialogue with expert familiarity. Look out for his highly dramatic and rectal-prolapse-hilarious monologue near the end of the play and maybe do a standing ovation if your rectum still remains inside you.

4) I will attribute the splendid blocking, pace and development to the directors: Nick Perry (Director), Janne Hu and Ariel Navas (Assistant Directors). Although the climax at the end of the first act was rather lacklustre, the rest of the play was deeply satisfying for a comedy of that complexity and length I am also glad the directors did not insist on a more sophisticated interpretation of the comedy, which would have dampened some audience response. Which is why I didn't mind the fist-bumping and blatantly juvenile behaviour unlikely for members of the upper class.

5) The set is adequately designed (Lew Bing Quan), complete with art and plants and lighted hallways. I wouldn't have minded a teeny bit more lavishness, but it worked and didn't distract, which is enough for a fixed set.

6) Costumes (I'm crediting Ephraim Tan, who is listed bizarrely under Fashion Director, as well as Celine Tan Sue-Wen, and Celeste Yeo) were not bad for the women and okay for the men. Not surprisingly, my favourite is Leonard's bathrobe, followed closely by Cookie's 60 year-old Russian mermaid-moss crazy ladysuit.

7) The publicity (Andrea Quek, Charlotte Hong) this time round was comprehensive and cool. I liked the brightly-coloured posters with snappy captions, and the one mimicking the poker card, both which were cute and relevant. The other posters with the actors' faces were less appealing (and also misleading! They looked way better on stage. And probably in person). See here for the posters.

8) There is tacky dancing involved. This is a good reason for anything, tacky dancing.

If you only watch one HCI ELDDFS production a year, or like ever, this is the one to go. It is the most polished, engaging and entertaining show I've seen staged so far. Don't regret not going and listening to all your cool friends gush about it. Tickets for the last run (tomorrow night!) are limited and selling fast, as I hear. For those who are going, have fun! For those who want tickets, they're available at front of house. But I suggest you text the Ticketing I/C, whose number can be found also here.

Rumours, written by Neil Simon, directed by Nick Perry and produced by HCI ELDDFS, continues its last run on 21st May 2011, 7.30pm, HCI Drama Centre. Tickets are $8 each.