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The Lifespan of a Fact

  • Theatre
The Lifespan of a Fact
Photograph: Singapore Repertory Theatre
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Time Out says

Last year, Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) ignited conversations with the witty play The Truth and the novel theatrical experience Caught. Both stagings explore the notion of deceit in this era of fake news. Now, to kick off the 2020 season, SRT is firing up the stage with yet another thought-provoking production – The Lifespan of a Fact. The Broadway smash hit takes centre stage at KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT from February 25.

Based on a book of the same name written by John D'Agata with the help of Jim Fingal in 2012, the somewhat-true story follows the quarrel the unorthodox essayist D'Agata (played by Ghafir Akbar) has with young, diligent intern Fingal (played by Jamil Schulze) over his coverage of the suicide of Levi Presley. In a world laced with misinformation and lies, Fingal's job – tasked by his demanding editor Emily Penrose (played by Janice Koh) – is to fact check the essay, making sure it's fit for publication. What starts as a string of simple queries turns into an epic showdown between fact and poetic truth, where egos clash and conflicts erupt. How far are you willing to stretch the truth to sell a persuasive and compelling narrative? Is everything meant to be taken with a pinch of salt?

"What I want the audience to witness is the clash of two opposite, absolutist beliefs. And in the midst of this clash, I want the audience to remember that there is another man at the heart of this story: the young Levi, whose motivation for throwing himself from the Stratosphere Tower is what John’s essay – and by extension of the play – seeks to understand," points out director Daniel Slater.

Watch the characters take on the challenges in the world of publishing and face the dire consequences of their actions in this character-based, situation-comedy by the SRT. Your curious mind will be questioning everything – even the nitty and gritty. If you're up for the challenge, secure your tickets online, available from $45.

Review

With fake news dominating social media these days, it’s hard to decipher fact from fiction. Are exaggerated truths a lie? And if not, where do we draw the line? That’s the argument explored in The Lifespan of a Fact. Written by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farell, the uproariously successful play is based on a book of the same name that the two protagonists wrote in 2012.

Yes, the two protagonists – because the book is basically a bunch of email transcripts between the writer and fact-checker. Jim Fingal (Jamil Schulze), a young intern at a prominent but sinking New York magazine, has been assigned to fact check an article about the suicide of a teenager from Las Vegas. John D’Agata (Ghafir Akhbar) is a self-proclaimed artist. “I’m not a reporter, and I have never claimed to be a reporter,” he says. D’Agata is known to take “little liberties” in his essays – god forbid you call it an “article”.

And so the story goes: Jim is a by-the-book fact-checker. John is a poet, an artist, bending truths to make a point. Serving as a mediator is editor Emily Penrose (Janice Koh), who was responsible for appointing Jim as a fact-checker. The audience probably saw themselves going back and forth between the two arguments. Sure, some of the liberties are innocent claims, like whether the bricks at the scene of the suicide were red or a less interesting brown. I mean hey, if there’s anything the dress from 2015 has taught us, colours are sometimes open to interpretation (psst: the dress was definitely white and gold.) But then comes more serious factual inaccuracies, such as the number of strip clubs in Sin City (Is it 31 or 34? Can you choose the latter just because it sounds more poetic?). Even more outrageous? Blatant fabrications, like how a girl’s suicide-by-jumping is changed into a suicide-by-hanging. "I wanted Levi's death to be the only one from falling that day. I wanted his death to be more unique,” we swear we could hear a collective gasp in the theatre.

There’s nothing flashy about the set, but it works. We’re taken from a swanky office in New York to a house in Las Vegas and even the scene of the suicide itself, the Las Vegas Stratosphere. After frustrating back and forth exchanges on stage – strangling involved – the play ends with a beautiful, emotional retelling of the suicide, in John’s words. The three main characters almost come to a mutual understanding. The audience, too, was left tethering the line between what’s more important, poetic truths or pure facts?

Review by Dewi Nurjuwita 

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From $45
Opening hours:
Mon-Fri 8pm, Sat 4pm & 8pm
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