aJ says I should be working for an ad agency (must be my constant churning of crazy ideas). Talk is cheap, my dear. Moreover I can't do a decent copy writing to save my crappy life, not to mention conceptualising an idea, putting it down to words and materialising it. Anyways, it has nothing to do with what I'm going to write later. It's an attempt to distract you from the following - my tried-very-hard effort to put together a decent review on an act. A drama-comedy. Or is it a theatre musical? Arh heck.


Did Lee Ang delete certain scenes from The Brokeback Mountain because they were too hot and raunchy?
How did Zhang Ziyi become Ziyi Zzhang?
Freddy v.s. Empress CiXi - who will win the battle?
What happens when Neo from The Matrix wants to return his EZ Link card?
Do we need cheesy video clips of How to Detect a Terrorist playing at all MRT stations?
What really happened between Emily Yong and Fei Xiang in The Cabaret?
Does casting ang mohs guarantee a success in box office sales?
What if you can't spell the name of the person correctly on the notebook "Death Note"?

All your answers at Forbidden Chestnuts: Portrait of a Brokeback Geisha. Known for its rojak mix and match of movie and broadway musical parodies, the Chestnuts is back for the 10th year - promising raunchier, wackier and more power-packed spoofs. And boy, I expected a truckload of sarcasm; I was not disappointed at all. The show poked fun at celebrities and their recent boo-boos, jibed about the 'very bad dress sense of terrorists' in the video clips which are played 24/7 at MRT commuters' faces and lamented about the ever no-budget excuse for the local arts scene whilst big money is injected to co-produce 'international movies'. From international broadway shows to local theatre, from movie celebrities to politics, Chestnuts delivers hardcore bitching at its best!

Though there are only four cast members - Jonathan Lim, Hossan Leong, Rodney Oliverio, Judy Ngo - the synergy among them is fantastic. The flow between each act seems so flawless. Jonathan Lim is so convincing as Kit Chan in her ancient imperial costume, Agent M from the 007 movie and the nonchalant MRT station staff. Hossan Leong is ever so witty and funny (even as the geisha). Judy Ngo's powderfool diaphragm livens up the show like a glass of refreshing lemonade. Rodney Oliverio - though I don't know much about him other than his on-screen role in Spin donkey years ago - he certainly adds meat to the plot as the unconventional 007.

My bones were tickled down to the marrow. Never mind I only managed to get the a Cat 3 seat (tickets are selling like hot hot cakes) - right smacked in the middle of the row, way up above the stall seats. But it was worth the effort to stretch my neck a bit.

Forbidden Chestnuts ends this coming Saturday, 20 Jan at the Drama Theatre Centre @ National Library. Try your luck and see if there are any more tickets left. Otherwise, till next year!

Other links:
Interview with Jonathan Lim