Month: April 2006

I went to watch The Homecoming yesterday at KLPac, Sentul West. ST and I had overslept, so by the time he picked me up, we were running quite late already. Then, Jalan Duta had a road closure right at the last stretch of road towards the roundabout that links to Segambut (thank you, Semi Value) and FA called and told us that late arrivals would not be admitted. I was beginning to feel the rage. Anyway, we got lost a bit on Jalan Ipoh and finally, at quarter past 3, we found the place. While we were driving in, my inner rage began to fizzle out as loads of green, water and old rustic buildings soothed my crushed hopes.

Sentul Park.

We hurried into KLPac, an artsy, Zen-nish looking building. Got our tickets which the beloved faggots had left with some hot chick at a counter and miraculously, they allowed us in! We even got front row seats.

As I sat down, the character Ruth (played by Loo Jia-Wei) was lying on the floor pulling some tantrum of sorts while Teddy (played by Ben Tan) was pacifying her. The first thought that ran through my head was, “I hope the rest of them speak coherent and clear English like these 2 are”. My first play was Rashomon at Istana Budaya and it sucked. There was a dude playing some monk who was speaking mandarin throughout the play and I couldn’t understand a thing. I left the play feeling cheated because I couldn’t help feeling that I was in no position to interpret the play since I’d missed all the mandarin monologues.

Window splat.

ANYWAY, next to appear was Lenny (played by U-En Ng). Lenny struck me as a really a sad fella. When Teddy questioned Lenny why he was sleeping downstairs, it struck me that Lenny wasn’t the favourite son in his home. I thought he was also sexually frustrated, which probably added more to his neuroticism.

Max (played by Thor Kah Hoong), the Father was an immensely creepy character. At first he seemed like any average chinese man, but as his character developed along with the play, I found him manipulative, misogynistic, self-absorbed and seriously twisted in the head. During the intermittent rest, one of the faggots suggested that Max was a paedophile who preyed on his own children. I was surprised as it hadn’t occured to me at all, but eventually the references to happy bath time convinced me that he was indeed an incestuous arsehole.

Poser by the pond.

Sam (played by Patrick Teoh) was Max’s long suffering brother. He seemed to me that he saw himself in Teddy. They’re both anomalies in a dysfunctional family. They both seemed to share similar moral grounds as could be seen from their pained expressions whenever someone came up with a sick suggestion. The difference between Sam and Teddy was that Teddy actually left his home for greener pasteur whilst Max stayed on. I wouldn’t be surprised too if Sam was actually the one who encouraged Teddy to seek for what he dared not seek.

Teddy struck me as a man who was torn between his family and happiness. It is ironic because people in general equate happiness with the presence of a family. It was likely due to this perception that he came back to his hometown, hoping to complete his “happiness”. He’s got a beautiful wife, adorable children and a successful career, there’s no reason to leave his parent and siblings out of the equation. Poor Teddy, even being thousands of miles away didn’t help him to escape the madness that was his life.

By the koi pond.

It could had been out of sympathy, familiarity and especially empathy, that Teddy had latched himself onto Ruth, his dysfunctional wife. Ruth was an interesting character. She was always decently dressed, but her longkang was prominently displayed throughout the play, hinting to the audience that she’s a sexual creature. She was married to Teddy for 6 long years, but I didn’t notice a wedding ring; could be my shortsightedness, could be because she didn’t believe in the institution of marrige. It also occured to me that Teddy had been deliberately made to look older, suggesting that Ruth was in need of a father figure. I was more convinced of this when Ruth was especially partial to Joey (played by Ian Cheang), the youngest boy in the family, she even took him upstairs for a little game of hokey pokey. Was it because Teddy could never satisfy her sexually?

As for Ian, I thought it was all the more funny when he pulled down his trousers and there was nothing more than a bulge the size of laichee at his crotch, and Ruth asked him to “switch off the rocket”. Hahaha. While I’m sure Ian must have a commendable erection offstage, I couldn’t help but laugh at the accidental mocking of the chinky chinese erections. Ian’s really cute and his Ah-beng english actually added more to his charm. At first I thought he was a sign of better things to come in the family, as he seemed ignorant of his Max’s eccentricity and was indulgent in his boxing hobby. However, as he began to be obsessed with Ruth, I knew that things would only go back to square one.

I <3 BryanBoy.

In conclusion, I think this play was a blast. I love it! The actors were immaculate. I was so glad that they admitted us despite us being late, otherwise I would’ve missed such a gripping and wonderful play. The RM3 teh tarik at The Curtain Call Café was delicious. The loos were sparkling clean and welcoming in spite of the lack of toilet rolls. Aside from the usual faggots….FA, Suan and Paul, also met Cheneille (lolita hot) and Smashpop (hot). I think there was a mingling session with the director and actors after the play but I missed it

I lepak-ed around Sentul West for a while. Went to the Koi Park which was beautiful. Obviously, I camwhored a whole lot too. Errr, here’s a picture of the cast of The Homecoming.

Standing from left: Ian Cheang, Ben Tan, U-En Ng. Seated from left: Patrick Teoh, Loo Jia-Wei, Thor Kah Hoong.

To The Homecoming team, well done!

Other reviews:

Fire Angel
Suan
Paul

Shaolin Tiger