Reviewed by Girish
Oo-woo!
Before the first dramatised reading of 'Oo-woo' at The Theatre Practice, Raimi Safari, the playwright, acknowledged in an Instagram post on @thenecessarystage how "Oo-woo" could be regarded as a strange title. In his short promo, he just urged people to come and watch to discover what it means. We don’t intend to spoil it for you, so hopefully, when his play features again in the foreseeable future, you too would have the delight of diving into the intricacies of 'Oo-woo'…
Featuring familiar family struggles in our ageing population (with the rising onset of dementia), the play boldly confronts the universal tussle between obligation and ambition. On the surface, this play may seem like a simple play that touches on the shirking of our familial obligations, but make no such rookie mistake!
The play dives deep into the vicissitudes of compromising sacrifices and selfishness within families with a disturbing touch of Singaporean pragmatism permeating the various characters’ decisions. It captures the illusions and lies we tell our loved ones. Every character in the play seems to be living in a world of their own, enthralled in their own ambitions. The prospect of success is like a snooker stick that sets off the play’s characters in a disruptive and unpredictable course - we see so many clashes between the characters. Their actions are solely informed by what they care about in their own bubbles.
As the play progresses, we begin to appreciate more the masterful navigation of these characters. Some clashes are intense and hot-headed, leaving us at the edge of our seats as to what may or may not happen, while others mix comedy and tragedy seamlessly, leaving us in laughter and tears. Oo-woo does not shy away from experimenting with unfamiliar techniques - from language change (English to Malay) in order to eke out authentically the domestic family feel, or surrealistic experiences of characters to reveal their inner thoughts and feelings. These have been placed carefully and paced artfully, leaving audiences in awe with the suspension of any disbelief, and without it turning cliche.
What is perhaps the most impressive aspect of the play is how it takes tropes, patterns, and everyday realities in Singapore and repackages them in a fresh and intriguing way— one such example is embedded in the title of the play! This makes the play highly accessible to audiences. You don’t have to have a family to relate to this play. Granted, the play is placed in the context of a family. But what the play is about fundamentally, is relationships and how we handle them.
How much do we give, how much do we pretend to give?
Are we giving, or are we giving in?
How much do we really want to give, and when will we stop giving in?
Perhaps that’s why many of the lines in the play sound universally applicable. Like when Ibu or Mak says, ‘’For people like us, a second feels like an eternity’’, or when Amelia says ‘’She would’ve wanted me to be happy‘’. Such ubiquity and resonance of the play leave us relating and reflecting on our own experiences. If you come to appreciate Oo-woo as much as I did, you may just be as teary-eyed as me at the end of the play, and as Amelia, Harris, and his wife were on stage, with their tears glistening in the spotlight.
At the end of the play, we, as the audience members, feel in control. The play ends without giving an end to the story, almost as if handing the reins of the narrative to the audience. Stopping half-game, as if the snooker stick has been handed on to us, to continue carefully, now we know where everyone around us is positioned.
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