Today Review 12 June 2006

TODAY
12 June 06

HOME IS ALL ABOUT POETRY

THE latest play by Drama Box's acclaimed director Kok Heng Leun's, Stranger at Home, comes across as one very long poem about the idea of home, memories and wanderlust.

Based on acclaimed playwright Quah Sy Ren's works, such is the lyricism of the script that if you rely on the surtitles, you will lose the nuances and texture of the language.

The play explores a student's homesickness and eventual feeling of independence, as well as a teacher's lack of homesickness in the city.

Also included are vignettes furthering the idea of home and memories and how these can affect one's values.

Admittedly, the play could be tighter. Running at 100 minutes, it becomes repetitive in the last half-hour.

The story is accompanied by music by The Observatory and a film made by Royston Tan specifically for the production.

Given the poetic script, however, the film becomes a distraction as images flash on and off behind and in front of the characters onstage.

The music is a nice touch, the film not. After all, it's theatre that we have come to see.