Cunt Talk Back
Loretta Chen’s take on The Vagina Monologues was daring and funny. Might have too much funny in it, though.
The cast was exceptional, and had me transfixed for most of the two hours. Pieces that I enjoyed in particular were Loke Loo Pin’s sardonic recount in Because He Liked To Look At It, transsexual Elnina’s They Beat The Girl Out Of My Boy, and Hair (done by Asha Edmund playing an Indian lady. With an Indian accent and that horrendously hilarious Indian-mother-glare).
Before the show, I was looking forward to The Woman Who Made Vagina’s Happy (that and Hair are my favourites). Sadly, Sabrina Renee Chong’s portrayal is a little… I have to say she is not a bad actress, but amidst the stellar cast, her constant smooth, suave, I’m-God’s-gift-to-women routine made the delivery flat within three lines. The moans in that piece was vocalised by Eleine Ng (hope I got the name right. Program booklet does not have photos with names!), who was one of the more entertaining actresses of the night, with her Russian sergeant act and boisterous stage presence.
Also, I love Elizabeth Tan. She was adorable as the 16-year-old in The Coochie Snorcher That Could (minor digression. That leopard-print trenchcoat on 30-year-old? Very hot.) and heart-stopping as the woman facing domestic violence.
Loretta Chen’s dramatised approach in acting out the monologues and cushioning with humour made the raw, angry script more accessible to the audience (baby steps with Singaporean audience!) but in some places, distracting. I have no memory of what the gym scene is about, since the jumping and pumping was too much of a visual abuse.
And that pole dance… I should be thinking what the point of the dance was, but when Samantha Kan’s hot booty is moving on stage like that, one does not think much.
Appreciation of the female body aside, I feel watching The Vagina Monologues performed live on stage should be a ritual for every female. It was not as life-changing as I expected, but Loretta’s addition of Chinese, Malay and Tamil lines makes it resonate among the local audience.
At the end of the night, the piece with lines left hanging in my mind was Short Skirt (It is not an invitation a provocation an indication that I want it or I give it or that I hook), since it had a theme I could relate to. Which brings me to this question: if we were to add a monologue to the collection, what are the issues that the modern Singaporean women (and our vagina’s) face? Heh I will think about this when I’m more awake.
