Review-The City That Never Sleeps-Perilous Mouths
15-1-13
By: Meaghan McGurgan
I am a big champion of new work being performed in Hong Kong. I think audiences and artists should take on the challenge.
Last night, I went down to the Fringe to see Perilous Mouths' The City That Never Sleeps, a series of short plays tied together by a period of time. The concept was simple but intriguing. Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps, so what happens to the people in the city between the hours of midnight and four am?
Young directors Fiona Mackington and Victoria Allington took on the work of new Hong Kong playwrights and devised some scenes in rehearsal. (In the program it says "some are extracts from established plays". What scenes were written by these "established writers" and who are they? I have no idea as the program was a bit confusing...)
Overall, I enjoyed the show. I thought the first vignette was the standout of the evening. It had the best of all things - best writing, best design, best blocking, great ensemble acting, and an excellent introduction to the production.
When working with vignettes, sometimes you have amazing pieces, like the scene in the girls' toilet, and sometimes you have duds, like the painfully obvious suicide piece. (Sidebar - she gave away her dog first?! And who actually uses the word "covet" when leaving a voicemail?!)
Hopefully this show will have something for every audience member. There were a few inconsistencies in the show, like asking for quarters in the arcade scene, but overall the show stayed true to its hip HK voice.
I thought the lighting design was beautifully executed and one of the highlights of the evening. I also thought the sound design was good, with thoughtful choices that fitted each scene. All the actors handled the transformative quality of the production well. I thought Tiff Chan was particularily outstanding with her full-on commitment to each character.
I fully encourage people to run down to the Fringe and check out this show. It's different, it's inventive, it has funny and sad moments. You'll find yourself thinking "Why am I in bed sleeping at 3am when I could be out doing this fun stuff?!"
The City That Never Sleeps has two shows today, its final day (Tuesday 15 January), at 5pm and 8pm. For more information click here.
Comments
Grere
Saw the play last night because my friend is in it. SOOOOOO GOOD! They are all graet actors. Agree with you on the one where the lady dies. It was too obvious what she was doing. I did like the husband one though... Glad you write about this show. More people can now see.
15 January 2013Lala
I liked it very much.
15 January 2013Guy
Best quote of the show, "Slut Drop"
15 January 2013