Hall Play this year, Letters From The Frontline, was a resounding success. It played for 2 nights (2 and 3 Feb) to full house at the UCC Theatre. Wowing the audience with a skilful blend of laugh-out-loud humour and hard-hitting scenes about war and the ludicrousness of military conflict, this was a masterpiece which had the audience shouting with laughter one moment and chilled with goosebumps the next. A witty and provocative script, coupled with fine performances from one of the most talented ensemble casts Hall Play has had in recent years, made this a pleasure to watch. Letters From The Frontline will go down in KE history, not just as a vehicle for charity fund-raising, but as a piece of genuine theatrical art.
This was a play which had more deaths, more romantic tension, and more emotional connection with the audience than most of the hall plays in recent memory. Everyone ended up rooting for Joseph Chen, the main character of the show, the young soldier who writes letters home to a girl he has never met. The audience found itself wondering if he would make it back alive, if he would ever meet Victoria, hoping for a happy ending. Cries of “Awww!” and cheers followed the story’s progress.
The original play, written and directed by Leon Choo and Darius Beh, had been kept tightly under wraps for months from even KEVIIans who were not involved, and for the last few months the cast and crew had been going around with the air of people bursting with a juicy secret to share! And well worth the wait it was. Visitors who were brought by their KEVIIan friends were overheard to say, “This sets the benchmark for all the other plays I will see this year”! KEVIIans themselves were very impressed, admiring the interesting sets and costumes, fondly commenting on the actors’ performances, and chewing over the thoughts raised by the show.
The more ‘lao jiao’ seniors as well as graduated seniors who had been involved in previous years’ Hall Plays and were more “in the know” about what goes into making a good Hall Play too had glowing comments, praising the professionalism of the show and appreciating the little details which often go unnoticed – the smooth transitions between scenes (no dropped chairs and muffled curses this year!), the lights and sound that went off without a hitch, all of which contributed to the success of the show. Seniors who had “retired” from hall play went off satisfied that the tradition was in good hands, but with a bit of nostalgic heartache at the sight of the vitality, camaraderie and happiness vivid in the faces of cast and crew who took their bows on stage, knowing that they had done a good job!
Kudos to everyone who made Hall Play possible this year!
Cast
Joseph ——– Thomas Wong
Victoria ——- Grace Chan, Dawn Cen, Eunice Chua, Celene Ng
Chairperson — Meilinda
Nurse ——— Lingyin
Nelson ——– Jiayan
Donny ——– Lynn
Alvin ——— Nathan
Dewen ——- Josh
Ensemble —– Azahar, Doreen Lau, Andy Tang
Steering Comm
Producer —– Trixie Chan
Directors —– Leon Choo, Darius Beh
Production Manager —- Soo Wai Kit
Stage Manager —- Vijay Luiz
Asst. Producer —- Chan Mun Joe
Asst. Production Manager —- Lai Yi Feng
Asst. Stage Manager —- Lim Aik Leong
Secretariat —- Freddy Chua
Costume —– Grace Foa
Set Decor —– Foo Su Lyn
Set Builder —- Zheng Zhi Chao
Tech Crew —– Lee Yen Ling
CAD —– Poh Chee Hau
Marketing —– Jose Davis Nidhin, Miao Baoqing
Ticketing —– Lee Dang Ni
SLW —- Ivy Nyam
About a hundred KEVIIans were involved in the making of this production. Congratulations on a magnificent job done!
KE7 News 