Honest Review: People, Places & Things (Staged by Pangdemonium!)

Image: Pangdemonium.com

Recently, I watched Pangdemonium’s People, Places & Things and it was pretty phenomenal. I watched it with my Boyfriend at the Esplanade’s Singtel Waterfront Theatre, which I didn’t know was a separate wing from the main ‘durian’ building. I went into the play blind but apparently, we did an excerpt of the play during Junior College in Literature class. I have vague memories of this being a thing, but again, not really.

The theatre’s setup was pretty interesting. The stage was in the middle of the theatre and reminded me of those booby traps in action movies where the walls start closing in when activated. We sat pretty close to the stage (3 rows) and speculated that the very first row of black seats (not your typical cushion chair in theatres) that looked super normal was part of the show and would come into play during a scene regarding Alcoholics Anonymous. Spoiler alert: It didn’t. The people in the seats were actual audience members. 

The Stage

The actors themselves were really cool, though we swear there was an actor swap halfway through for the character Foster. However, the cast also reminded me about how small Singapore’s theatre scene is. I recognised some of the actors from other productions I’ve watched. The most intriguing stage magic part of the play was this scene when several versions of the main character began rising from a bed. I eventually realised that there was probably a hole in the bed for the actors to rise, but still cool nonetheless.

The play was absolutely gripping, the tension felt so real. Something intriguing was the main character’s backstory. She initially calls herself Nina, then Emma, then says her name is Sarah. However, towards the end of the play when she finally speaks to her mother, I swear her mother referred to her as Lucy. I thought I was merely hearing things because I had some difficulty deciphering some lines (A skill issue on my end) but my Boyfriend told me he heard it too. I liked this detail of the character’s name because it was consistent with how she’s an actress who doesn’t know when she’s actually being herself.

I also liked the detail of Mark, the guy who helps her the most in rehab, who shares the same name as her dead brother. Mark goes from a member of therapy to a worker in the rehab centre but at times, I lowkey felt uncomfortable by his character. Personally, I haven’t read the play so I’m not too sure if each production is staged similarly but in this case, Mark and the main character got too close for comfort, especially when he’s a worker in the centre. I think the point was to portray his character in such a way to remind the main character of her dead brother, but I think there was accidental romantic tension.

The ending of the play was extremely bittersweet, which made sense but also left me feeling hollow. The timeline of the play’s second act actually left me a bit confused because from what I gather, the intermission was a time skip to the main character relapsing and ending up in rehab again. But a few scenes after she was literally on her way to recovery? In group therapy, she practises what to say to her parents when she gets out and when she talks to her real parents, the stuff they say is pretty hurtful. Rather than abuse, I saw it more as a “tired” kind of thing, but it was still harsh and sad, especially when her father agrees that she should have died instead of her brother and when her mother never says she is proud of her.

I was so glad to see the main character fight her addiction and even sign up for AA meetings when she gets out of rehab, but it was so bittersweet to see her perform a monologue to audition for an acting role… only to find out that there’s a lot of other people auditioning as well. Just proves to show that life sucks, and even if you get clean, it doesn’t mean you get a happily ever after. I thought that it was a valid and nuanced ending that doesn’t give false hope.

The set design was amazing. I don’t usually sit so close to the stage so this was the first time I managed to see all the transition scenes clearly. The clubbing/partying scenes felt too real and made me realise that I probably can’t visit a club anytime soon, since a mere simulation in a play managed to give me a headache.

Overall, it was a good experience. Loved it and even donated a bit (as payment for the programme booklet) because I want artists to have a future in Singapore. Glad for the opportunity and looking forward to more of Pangdemonium’s productions. Thanks for reading!

The Cast

P.S. If you're interested, Pangdemonium is staging the production till 9th April 2023. Click here for more information (not sponsored).

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