The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender - Leslye Walton

"Of the stories and the myths that surrounded my family and my life - some of them thoughtfully scattered by you perhaps - let it be said that, in the end, I found all of them to be strangely, even beautifully, true."

This tale, though quite short, spans three generations, firmly establishing that the strangeness lay in Ava Lavender's blood. 

We start with her grandmother, Emilienne. We follow her through her growing years, her lost loves, the choices that led her to Pinnacle Lane. We learn of her brutal, tragic past, which led to the decisions she would make later in life. We come to understand how this story will likely proceed.

Then, we move on to Ava's mother, Viviane. We see her live her young years as a free spirit, loving freely and deeply, living without limits. We witness how loss makes her shapeless, haunts her for years. We see love at its best, and love at its worst, and we see how one embraces it and lets it go.

Finally, we reach Ava Lavender, a girl born with wings on her back. Her wings bring worship, interest, fascination, and worry, and she is thus hidden from the world, kept away from prying eyes. She has few friends her age, and ignorance of the world outside brings about a chain of events that bring us to the last arc before curtain call.

--

This story was indeed strange and possibly even beautiful (though at times it would be inappropriate to use this word), so much so that it had an aura about it, something special and difficult to explain. It is a story to remember, with characters you would find hard to forget. 

In the beginning, the brutality in certain parts of the piece jarred me. It seemed as if they were brought about by some magic or brief bout of insanity. Sometimes, I found that things didn't make sense or were really sudden, but I had to learn to get over that, because the beginning set the tone for everything else. The stories were in some parts mercilessly cruel, shaped by the desires and emotions of the characters such that harm and unhappiness were inflicted on others. Many events in the story were soaked in tragedy and depravity, and as a result the lives of many were shaped and even defined by them. If one were looking for a nice romance, they would find some specimens in these pages quite unpleasant.

The tagline of the story, "Love makes us such fools.", provides an explanation for that. Love is blind, Love is foolish. Love invokes strong emotions, Love perpetuates rash decisions. Many acts in the books are brought about by Love's devastation, Love's devotion and Love's compulsion. Love can affect people in many ways, sometimes horribly and sometimes kindly. This book managed to unmask the ugly side of Love while preserving its beauty, positivity, and endless potential with different examples, and I love it that much more for that. (Hee.)

The characters were fleshed out remarkably well considering the size of the book and the number of stories unfolding within, and I became attached to them surprisingly quickly. I did not dislike even those who made bad decisions and irresponsible choices (though, I do dislike just the one - however I am pretty sure we were not meant to like that character anyway) and came to treasure them and accept them and their stories. I cherish what I got to experience with them, and would probably do it all over again.

Overall, I liked this story. The story could not have been told in any other way, many characters were beautifully explored, and the greatest message delivered was one of hope and possibilities, something that left me satisfied as I exited the strange and beautiful world I had been granted entrance to.

- Savant

Review: "Ghost Writer" by The Necessary Stage

Are you living a life to fulfill someone else's purpose?

Helmed by Cultural Medallion recipients Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma of The Necessary Stage, Ghost Writer offers a glimpse into the lives of characters intertwined by blood and ties that bind-and suffocate. 

A young dancer who has undergone traditional training feels dislocated within her artistic practice in her home country. A new expatriate wife detached from her immediate reality draws inspiration from the writings of strangers past and present, and tries to reinvent herself. A teacher seeks to save a school that she had inherited, but finds her quest leaves her more lonely than ever.
A meditative interdisciplinary production that charts the collisions of people seeking to alter their destinies, Ghost Writer grapples with the question of how independent our lives can be. Are we existing based on other people's terms, or can we transcend tradition and memory to rewrite our own stories?

Ahhhhh my heart.

I've always loved Haresh Sharma's works. I'm in love with physical movement. So Ghost Writer was naturally something I wanted to see. And I was not disappointed. Kinda.

Ghost Writer makes use of various art forms: theatre, dance, multimedia and music. Music was played live by Bani Haykal and sung by Namita Mehta, something new that I enjoyed. The various mediums intertwined perfectly to create a stage that looked like something out of a contemporary art museum. The set was simple: a table for actors on stand by to sit at and four screens on wheels. Projections showed character's stories as they spoke, providing exposition to the audience.

The cast did not disappoint. With a mixture of dancers and theatre artists, they were able to perform as one entity, one body as they moved perfectly in time. Sharda Harrison (aka Thespian's goals) was a perfect choice for Nandini, an expatriate wife who copes with the death of her sister years later. Sharda was able to portray Nandini's grief and at the same time distinguish herself from the character when she acted as a narrator and inner voice of others. (Sharda if you're reading this I freaking love you). Ruby Jayaseelan portrayed Priya, a dancer, well, showing her struggle with her Indian roots and origin, the reason for her success but the one thing she pushed away. However, Jereh Leong's character seemed rather redundant, barely making any impact on the storyline.

One may not understand the story when watching the show (I heard many "What the hell?"s after the show) but I personally did not attend for the plot. I attended for the movements and dance. And I left feeling completely inspired. The movements of the cast was so controlled and graceful at the same time. It really makes one wonder how much training it took for them to get it perfect. Times like these, I'm reminded why I love this art and what I want to become.

Ghost Writer may have been avant garde and not really suitable if you're a new comer to the theatre scene. But if you're looking for a feast for the eyes, you've chosen the right show.

-Thespian