Review: "Cat,Lost and Found" by I Theatre's Creative Edge

How far will you go to be together with the one you love? Originally staged by The Finger Players, Cat, Lost & Found explores themes of love, loss and what happens when nothing is quite as it seems. Featuring a quirky cast of characters including a salesman, his dead mother, a Malay movie hero and 500 ghosts, Cat, Lost & Found tells an unconventional love story between a cat and his usher.

Directed by Jonathan Lum, Cat, Lost & Found is the showcase culmination of 12 months of intensive training in physical theatre, puppetry, mask and live acting by Creative Edge - Theatre Training Ensemble, I Theatre’s youth training wing.[Disclaimer:The following is an amateur interpretation and review of the mentioned performance. If you feel that I've misinterpreted certain aspects of the performance, feel free to let me know in the comments. I'm more than happy to hear different opinions and learn from practitioners  in the industry.]

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"Welcome to Hoover Theatre. May I show you to your seat?"

Savant and I had the chance to watch Cat, Lost and Found performed by the second batch of Creative Edge, i Theatre's youth training ensemble with a few friends. Cat, Lost and Found was performed at the Play Den in the Arts House (aka the old parliament building). The play was showing from 4-6 March, with 2 casts. Cast 1 performed from 4-5 March while Cast 2 performed from 5-6 March.

Thanks to something known as student prices and connections, I personally had the chance to catch both casts in action. The first with Savant, and the second with another group of friends.

The moment we stepped into the black box space, we were greeted by soft Malay music playing in the background (with static for good measure), long rectangular boxes positioned to look like seats, and casts members wearing white smocks over their black clothing, drifting silently around the space and through the aisles. Upstage were three translucent screens, symbolizing a movie screen. One definite thing you would not miss, however, is the chirpy and bright Usher who greets you at the entrance of the Play Den and directs you to your seat. The Play Den itself is an unique space. Formerly used as the general office for Singapore’s first Chief Minister, Mr. David Marshall in the 1950s, seats are placed against the three walls of the black box, instead of the back of the room (more on that later).

Savant and I watched Cast 1 in the afternoon of 5th March. Characters whose actors are not rotated (ie Man, Hero, Narrator) aside, the rest were simply not very impressive. Many characters were one sided, without much depth behind their personalities. Take the Cat Spirit played by Saleha Jubir, for example. Until her last appearance as the Cat Spirit, the character was just angry throughout. Dialogue was mainly growled or yelled out and the lack of any other emotion makes it difficult to sympathise with the character. Theresa Wee-Yenko, however, did manage to pull off an impressive portrayal of the Usher, managing to win the audience over with her naive hopefulness and, very frankly, made me want to hold her and pat her on the head.

Her Cast 2 counterpart was no different. Played by Sim Xin Feng, her version of the Usher was more independent and determined. Special mention also goes to Abby L Kahei's Mother. Portraying a typical Singaporean stereotype, Abby was able to entertain her audience with typical 'Singaporean mother' habits and at the same time pity her as she desperately searches for Meow meow, her deceased husband. One notable moment, when Man (played by Mario Chan) cries ghost, Abby quietly strolls towards the kneeling Mario and gives him a tight slap, berating "You scared of ghost for what? Your mother is also a ghost!" (not the exact quote). 

Abby L. Kahei as Mother and Mario Chan as Man

Lala Gwen Thomas especially stands out in both casts, as Wife and Cat Spirit respectively. Her personality was evident in both characters, something she has previously been praised for. Lala was clearly careful not to lose herself in her two roles and humanised them, giving every reason for us to sympathise with them. Even a puppet of a bird was given its own character. To quote a review from Popspoken (Red Pill Productions Doesn’t Hold Back In Scandalous Debut Play, October 19, 2013): "You can recognise Chua Enlai in whichever role he plays. You will recognise Lala Thomas in whichever role she plays.".

Lala Gwen Thomas as Angel/Cat Spirit

Props to the entire cast for their delivery despite the given circumstances. Due to the unique black box space, there were times where the actors' backs were facing certain audience members. However, the delivery and clarity of their lines made up for being unable to see their facial expression (especially for characters whose faces can't even be seen, ie Angel/Cat Spirit, Hero). Sound effects and music were appropriately and well used, from the slowing heart beat to symbolise a character's death to the comical Malay song played during a dream sequence. 

Overall, Creative Edge was able to put up a pretty impressive performance, considering they had only two months of rehearsals. We look forward to the second showcase from Creative Edge and hope to see the talents in action again during the course of their individual careers.

Theresa Wee-Yenko as Usher

-Thespian

Photos courtesy of Creative Edge-Theatre Training Ensemble.