Review of Lim Boon Keng, The Musical - Bright The Light
[Media Invite and Review]
There is very little written about Singapore’s founding heroes in our history books, including this man – Dr Lim Boon Keng, especially on his personal and family life. Ask any Singaporeans of my age or younger, they probably only know about the MRT station and the road name named after him. However, the Pioneer generation will know more about him. It is no wonder Dr. Lim’s great-granddaughter, local playwright, Stella Kon, wanted to produce this musical in remembrance of him.
Other than learning history through books, I would say, the other more efficient way is to watch documentaries and visit museums. Because we need a substantiate time to understand and digest the background and the progress of these life stories, books, documentaries and artefacts/photos from the past are the best tools. But, owing to the lack of information, Stella struggled to create a documentary for his great-grandfather, so instead, a musical is the way to go.
I went with AJ last night, together with Serene and her son, for the opening night. It is a 1.5-hour musical with no intermission at Victoria Theatre. The thrust stage theatre is small, so almost from any angle, one could feel the nearness to the stage. The musical does not have fanciful stage dress-up, it only has a plain backdrop with light projection on it for different stage scenes. The choral ensemble sings on the upstage in most of the scenes.
Naturally, we’ll have to set our mindset right when watching this musical. It is not about the frills of the stage, the comfort of the seats, the fantasy of the lighting effects or the fanciful costumes. Rather, watching this musical is to better appreciate the life of Dr Lim and his contributions to Singapore. Watch this musical from the perspective of this man.
Dr Lim is played by Broadway Beng’s Hokkien flamboyant stand-up comedian, Sebastian Tan. If you are used to his flamboyance, catchy show tunes and risqué English-Hokkien jokes in his past shows, you may be a little surprised to see him this serious in this musical. I would say it is a good change, it goes to show how versatile he can be.
Among the war, trials and accusations, the love story of Dr Lim with his first wife, Margaret Wong, touches my heart the most. His love for her was so deep that no one else could ever replace her. But their marriage was short as Margaret passed on early. His second wife, Grace, was a total opposite in terms of personality but both were very strong women. You could sense the different levels of love Dr Lim had for these 2 women. I think the 3 casts here have mastered this emotional entanglement very well.
This musical is a great exposure for AJ and myself, knowing a little more about Dr Lim Boon Keng and his personal life. I would think, to reap more benefits, one should read up about Dr Lim first before watching this musical. Here's a little background about Dr Lim Boon Keng (summarised from Bandwagon):
He was the first Chinese boy to receive a Queen’s Scholarship to study medicine. He returned to Singapore in 1892 with first-class honours. He founded schools, championed education for girls, and rallied many public support on many public causes. For all his philanthropic work, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire, but he was subsequently accused of being a spy and collaborator of the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese War.
Lim Boon Keng – The Musical plays from 10th to 13th October 2019 at the Victoria Theatre. Tickets available from SISTIC.
There is very little written about Singapore’s founding heroes in our history books, including this man – Dr Lim Boon Keng, especially on his personal and family life. Ask any Singaporeans of my age or younger, they probably only know about the MRT station and the road name named after him. However, the Pioneer generation will know more about him. It is no wonder Dr. Lim’s great-granddaughter, local playwright, Stella Kon, wanted to produce this musical in remembrance of him.
Other than learning history through books, I would say, the other more efficient way is to watch documentaries and visit museums. Because we need a substantiate time to understand and digest the background and the progress of these life stories, books, documentaries and artefacts/photos from the past are the best tools. But, owing to the lack of information, Stella struggled to create a documentary for his great-grandfather, so instead, a musical is the way to go.
I went with AJ last night, together with Serene and her son, for the opening night. It is a 1.5-hour musical with no intermission at Victoria Theatre. The thrust stage theatre is small, so almost from any angle, one could feel the nearness to the stage. The musical does not have fanciful stage dress-up, it only has a plain backdrop with light projection on it for different stage scenes. The choral ensemble sings on the upstage in most of the scenes.
Naturally, we’ll have to set our mindset right when watching this musical. It is not about the frills of the stage, the comfort of the seats, the fantasy of the lighting effects or the fanciful costumes. Rather, watching this musical is to better appreciate the life of Dr Lim and his contributions to Singapore. Watch this musical from the perspective of this man.
Among the war, trials and accusations, the love story of Dr Lim with his first wife, Margaret Wong, touches my heart the most. His love for her was so deep that no one else could ever replace her. But their marriage was short as Margaret passed on early. His second wife, Grace, was a total opposite in terms of personality but both were very strong women. You could sense the different levels of love Dr Lim had for these 2 women. I think the 3 casts here have mastered this emotional entanglement very well.
This musical is a great exposure for AJ and myself, knowing a little more about Dr Lim Boon Keng and his personal life. I would think, to reap more benefits, one should read up about Dr Lim first before watching this musical. Here's a little background about Dr Lim Boon Keng (summarised from Bandwagon):
He was the first Chinese boy to receive a Queen’s Scholarship to study medicine. He returned to Singapore in 1892 with first-class honours. He founded schools, championed education for girls, and rallied many public support on many public causes. For all his philanthropic work, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire, but he was subsequently accused of being a spy and collaborator of the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese War.
Lim Boon Keng – The Musical plays from 10th to 13th October 2019 at the Victoria Theatre. Tickets available from SISTIC.
Merci Beaucoup
Thank you Musical Theatre Live and AT Marketing and PR Consultancy for the invite!
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