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| Thursday, December 13, 2007
Theatre > Review > The Mismatched Girl by Yang Ming A Thoughtful StartWriter : Annabelle Bok Annabelle contributes her first theatre review at CreateLeVoyage.com, about a girl and an old man who become friends when they share the same passion for gazing at the HDB lights at night. Yang Ming's debut play, The Mismatched Girl was performed on 24 & 25 August 2007.  The girl and the old manUndoubtedly, Yang Ming's debut play had an impact on its audience on opening night. Almost effortlessly, the combination of script, set and acting drew chuckles, amused and surprised laughter, thoughtful "hmmm"s and even sniffles from the crowd. Familiar and yet fresh, the script was comfortably, even enjoyably predictable at certain points, and delightfully surprising at others, providing an ebb and flow of intensity that less frequent theatre-goers seemed to greatly appreciate. Yang Ming's personal quirk appears to be her disarmingly subtle "breaking of the fourth wall" in stages, to the point where actual interaction between actors and audience seamlessly engaged their willing input and amused laughter. Perhaps what can be improved on in future projects is the link between title and plot - Peter Wee and Wu Yahui's characters, although impressively well-played, did not give the impression that the titular "mismatched slippers" were truly important - this despite their being mentioned perhaps twice in the course of the play. While it is easy enough to conjecture the slippers' use as metaphor, the "mismatched-ness" of the little girl herself did not quite come through as much as the mischievous innocence marred by a less-than-happy family life. Leaving the theatre, the following comments were among those overheard from various members of the audience: “Quite moving at some parts, almost had me in tears"; "Pretty good for a first play"; "I thought the production was put together and executed well - I actually managed to forget about the uncomfortable seats at some parts!" One is left to conclude that Yang Ming has made a mark in our local theatre scene. It remains to be seen what she will come up with next! And I’m sure that many people will be waiting.
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