Pangdemonium: Becoming Next to Normal, then suffering Gruesome Playground Injuries (Review)

Pangdemonium recently staged 2 production here, both dealing with medical conditions.  Next to Normal, with music composed by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey, led us into a family dealing with the mother's mental illness.  While the topic of mental illness would be off putting for sombre, the creative team has written a play filled with humour and at the same time, bittersweet.  While it touched on a sombre topic, it was not preachy and it offered a twist in the plot.

With a strong script, the cast was able to deliver a strong performance.  Sally Ann Triplett played the role of mother well, in particular scenes where she was undergoing treatment.  Adrian Pang supported her well as her suffering and frustrated husband Dan, and Nathan Hartono was competent playing the son Gabe.  To me, Julia Abueva was a surprise as Natalie.  Her performance captivated the audience with her intense emotions and we could feel her angst dealing with her family situation.  The cast also included Juan Jackson playing one role as Dr Fine and another as the eccentric Dr Madden.  Linden Furnell completed the cast as Henry, Natalie's friend.   Overall this ensemble gave the audience their money's worth.

While this production may not be the most perfect (eg. singing), it succeeded in conveying the emotions to the audience.  And for about 2 hours, we were involved in the ordeal of this family.  Good script, good casting, good performance.  One of the best productions in Singapore this year.

The company next staged Gruesome Playground Injuries at the Esplanade Theatre Studio.   It was not common to see 2 theatre companies in Singapore staging an identical play in the same year -  World in Theatre's staging was done half a year earlier.

Pangdemonium's version, directed by Tracie Pang, was more impactful and the cast of Alan Wong and Seong Hui Xuan gave a more intense performance.  The set design by Philip Engelheart was beautiful and well thought of, with various objects such as saws forming the backdrop of the stage.  The production value was high, but I still find the script itself slightly draggy.

Pangdemonium has put up 2 good performances this year and it is one theatre company which is likely to make waves in the years to come.