I watched Das Experiment and Catching Adam Cheng over the weekend. Busted over $70 but here are my views:

DAS EXPERIMENT: THE BLACK BOX.

Everyone who can MUST go and see it. It is a brilliant polemic on what it means to be human and an incisive study of power and human relations under particular stressing and dire consequences. I felt that the space and setting was used rather effectively though i it gave the impression of being cluttered in certain areas. The acting was good - brilliant in fact, for the leading characters. I thought the 'doctors' were not that good though, perhaps due to a lack of real character development. Again there were too many layers of meaning and too many possible ways of analysing that so many questions are thrown up without being ableto be answered adequately. The shock, tension, and anger aroused is however very much commendable on the part of the actors, acting, and the use of props - like the gun shot. Certain moments created a huge impact and impression and the actors must be applauded.

I did also feel that there was a disproportionate development of character for the characters, which I guess is inevitable given the numbers and their relative importance. The lead male actor is absolutely brilliant. He deserves a standing ovation.

On a more personal level, I found many uncanny similarities with BMT. Surprise surprise. Talk about a social study or a social experiment. The main difference is that there is a cap to the amount of power and authority in the military, in the real world. But the very fact that the play is based on a real incident says enough about humans and the possibilities of abuse, given the right coctail of circumstances. Note the abuse of prisoners at Abu Gharaib some yrs back.

I noted some very subtle political criticism with the constant references to 'internal security' and 'only doing our job' etc etc. True that the play as a whole certainly does not make a nice and fitting parallel, but i do not think that it would have been a viable option as it would deviate the play from it's original purpose and intent. What I did like about the play was how the divide between stage and audience, reality and unreality, seemed to slowly merge right from the beginning. By the end of the play, who - actors and audience - could be said to be solely and merely 'spectators' to these unfortunate turn of events? As the play progressed, I began to wonder how I myself would have reacted under those situations and it was dreadfully frightening to see little bits of me appearing on stage now and then when I least expected it. It was as if something out from the dark reached out to remind me of the horror and extremities of emotions I once felt.

More on human nature. Many questions were raised, but I can safely conclude that humans are more than just wires in a box. Liberty is so important to LIFE itself. Liberty is more than just a 'political concept' oft abused by politicians and human rights activists alike. It is something fundamental to BEING HUMAN. Yet to survive we exchange certain elements of it in return for something else - like safety and security. I felt that many humanitarian questions were raised - particularly about crime and punishment - which is impossible to be dealt with by just me alone. I feel horribly perturbed simply because there were so many contradictory 'prototypes' presented and it seemed to be that humans can go either way - or any way in fact! Every human being is different. Can we be simply reduced to mere generalisations and predictions?

That was on saturday night. And on another note, quite a few mediacorp artistes were watching on the same night as me. how lovely. pity i dont like their shows or their acting. i think that theatre offers a better glimpse into real talent.

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CATCHING ADAM CHENG.

Funny and heartwarming. Sure, it was cheesy and cliche at some points and it started slow, but it got progressively better. As a comedy, I didn't expect much character development, though I found the way the characters were unfolded was nicely done. Kudos to IRWIN for his 'maiden' attempt at theatre! It's really not bad. (: good work mr see. nicely done.

and yes, it made me laugh so hard at certain points. good job.

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Now, what's next?