2012 really is the year of the apocalypse, at least in theatre anyway. Following February’s production of ‘Boom’, we now have six short plays, each around 15 minutes in duration, about judgment day in ‘It’s the End of the World, Now Run Screaming’. The Electric Minds Project (EMP) fourth annual Open Director Showcase, which brings together a group of promising young directors and writers in a production setting, sees a collection of six short stories by local writers exploring apocalyptic themes from various perspectives. ‘Dramatic, unexpected and surreal,’ described EMP coordinator Alex Chua of the stories on show.
‘The Last Day’ by Alexander William Beale takes a ‘Vantage Point’-like approach to storytelling, with four individuals sharing their final moments on Earth through four viewpoints. In the midst of all the doom and gloom, ‘If a Fat Girl Falls in a Forest, Do the Trees Laugh?’ by Cheah Ui Hua, about a man, a girl and a mime trapped in an elevator during the apocalypse, seems the most likely to deliver a laugh. However, ‘Untitled’, which is a post-apocalyptic experimental physical theatre and dance piece choreographed by BB Ostella Adam, could well prove to be the most intriguing of the bunch. The cast includes Tiara Katrina, Elza Irdalynna and Benji Tan of ‘Relationship Status’ fame. Wong Boon Ken