Sneak Peek Saturday - The Book of Living and Dying

The haze may be affecting many aspects of our lives right now, and we've been advised by the government to stay indoors and breathe in more glorious, air-conditioned air. 

But for those itching to be out and about, or those not so lucky to have an air-conditioner in your apartment, may I suggest you spend an hour and a half of your time to explore the play from The Finger Player's, titled "The Book of Living and Dying". Kinda like how those in Riau, Malaysia and us are feeling right now--living and dying--but I digress.

First, the details. The play is scheduled to run from July 4 to July 7 at the Esplanade's Theatre Studio venue, and costs S$25 for a free seating ticket although relevant concessions are available. For more details, you can check out Sistic's booking portal.

Now, with that out of the way, let me introduce to you The Finger Players. I first heard of them when the puppetry troupe put up the performance "Furthest North, Deepest South", which was an adaptation of Gavin Menzies' book "1421: The Year China Discovered The World". Intelligently melding puppet-playing with a strong storyline, it helped liven up the retelling of history and made it more accessible to a wider range of audience demographic. 

With this latest play, The Book of Living and Dying, which was first performed during last year's Singapore Arts Festival, puppetry is once again used to augment an otherwise complex and difficult subjects: living, dying and reincarnation. 

Before I go on, let me admit that I've not watched this play when it was first put up. It so happens that I received the EDM of the play during the week, and it piqued my interest enough to do some basic research on it. 

In a nutshell, the play revolves around a transvestite father in New York and his estranged adopted daughter. As the latter clears out her dad's personal belongings, she comes to realize that the father-daughter relationship wasn't always the way it was in previous incarnations and the revelation threatens to unravel the existing dynamic even as the father suffers from terminal cancer. 



I don't expect it to be easy viewing for those interested to check the play out. I am, however, confident enough to say that your knowledge of how a tiny performing space is used to represent time, space and continents simply with lighting, chalk drawings and puppetry will be enhanced.

Until the next time, stay healthy!