REVIEW / THEATRE

PLATFORM SERIES: JOURNEYS, A DOUBLE BILL

GenerAsia

School Of The Arts Studio Theatre/Last Friday

The two solo performers in GenerAsia's double-bill last week offered a lot of good material, coincidentally about good material (leather) or material goods (shoes).

Creator-performers Erwin Shah Ismail and Kimberly Chan sang and acted delightfully in the former's monologues about leathercrafting (Kulit On The Go) as well as Chan's sketch-revue centred around footwear (In Her Shoes).

But both works needed to be trimmed and tightened for the stage.

Kulit On The Go began as a 20-minute play for Teater Ekamatra's Projek Suitcase in 2016, directed by GenerAsia's chairman Richard Tan, who returned as director for this recreation.

This version lasts over 45 minutes and expands Erwin's interest in bespoke handicrafts to include the messy process of acquiring and tanning leather and a question of whether leather is environmentally friendly.

The writer-performer moves fluidly between characters such as a cattle farmer and hipster leathercrafter - surtitles would have improved some of the transitions - but the introduction of the environmental issues seems like an afterthought rather than an integral part of Kulit On The Go.

The heart of the show, the love of leathercrafting, loses much from being staged in a venue meant to seat 200 people, instead of 20.

An interesting idea is having Erwin make a leather bracelet on stage with the help of a viewer.

Unfortunately, the intimacy between performer and audience dissipates after the first two rows, when it could have easily been expanded by live video projection showing his hands working on the leather.

Stronger direction would also have helped Chan's In Her Shoes. The performer, directed by Samantha Scott-Blackhall, ends up stretching the material too thin.

Chan's initial idea was a musical revue showing off her collection of shoes.

Her strong, lovely voice plus warm chemistry with composer-pianist Aloysius Foong would have made that kind of a show a success.

Instead, she also shoehorns in sketches of fictional women grappling with overbearing mums or fickle lovers. The transition between self and fictional character trips up the show after a while.

In Her Shoes finds its feet only when she throws herself into song and flamenco dance heart and sole. Watching a triple threat command the stage is the highlight of the evening.