One-Alpha-Man Show Of Worldly Desires & Exquisite Relish metros.events /a/reviews/one-alpha-man-show-of-worldly-desires-exquisite-relish
*Photos were sourced with permission from here.
More Than A Monologue: Provocative Has A New Name Last night (25 February), director Richard Chua Lian Choon invited us to the exclusive preview of “Weight of Silk On Skin�, starring the handsome and charismatic actor Dominic Lucien Luk who represented the character of John Au Yong, a successful middle-aged man who reveals his deepest and darkest inner self.
Since the beginning of time, society has desensitize and generalize men as being tough, fearless, tearless, insensitive and emotionless. Then Dominic came along and took this common misconception one step further; by delivering an intense monologue about John’s past, memories, whims and fancies, and personal idiosyncrasies.
For most of the play, John dives in between random moments of his life and uses sexually-charged vocabulary to describe Anna, a woman he once loved and lost. As the soliloquy unfolded, we realize that Anna, although unmaterialized, became the root of his undoing.
Of Carnal Intimacy and Sensual Thoughts With little emotional attunement or connection, John proceeded to describe certain significant details of a time and place with Anna. He wallowed in the lust and passion they shared, and even after her, with many other women.
“For with every conquest, a man reasserts his liberation from this thing called love.�
His solitary narrative was flecked with PG-13 rated words, obscenities, vulgarities and the likes. John makes it clear to us from the start with his knack for wooing beautiful ladies and by his smooth, silk-stocking style that he enjoys engaging in promiscuity, scandal, and even a little voyeurism (oops!).
“There is a time to tell the truth and a time to tell a lie. The problem is, you don’t know which time is it.�
Nonetheless, his strong and macho facade melted away as he mentally implored the distant memory of Anna; who stomped his sensitive heart into the dust and tossed him aside for another, to love him as he is and be with him. John expressed his fears, doubts and anxiety of the only woman who tarnished his world of intimacy and relationships up to this day.
“I will love you when you are old and broken and you will be young and new when I am old and broken.�
Our Most Humble Opinion The exceptional creativity, direction and commitment of Richard Chua and Dominic Luk towards producing a unique and compelling interior monologue could not be a better way to show us a different view of their interpretation of the alpha-male notion.
Writing, directing and acting out monologues require a real trick or talent, just as the incredibly natural acting as well as impressive memorization and multi-tasking abilities Dominic possessed.
The production team behind the play really nailed it, from the captivating layout of the set by Waylon Ling to the appropriate enthralling music played by Graceful Piano and gifted composer Onn San, down to the perfect timing of lighting design by Wei Hock N.
This thought-provoking piece would touch, amuse, and amaze you in so many ways while planting seeds of subconscious epiphanies and self-discovery in your heart. Beware, you might end up doing some deep and serious soul-searching just as John searches his own.
What's The Rating?
It is definitely a show to sit back, watch and reflect upon as you put your life on pause this weekend and let another take over the scene with his own life anecdotes. We give it a rating of 7.5/10.
Not satisfied with reading this review alone? Then, hurry and reserve your tickets for the Black Box at Damansara Performing Arts Centre tonight by 8.30 pm.
“Who knows him better than me? My love gives him life. What is he without me? An empty husk that once housed a silk worm.� -Fathimath Nuha
For more information, head on here, or book your tickets here or here.