Decimal Points 0 by Cake Theatrical Productions 16-18th October 2014 Performed @ the Substation

Being plunged into darkness this close to Halloween isn’t really my idea of fun. But that’s exactly what happened with Cake Theatrical Production’s Decimal Points 0, which ran recently at The Substation (16-18th October 2014). The movement piece, directed by Andy Lim, was an engaging blend of sound and light, enhancing the score of the actors in the simple white set.

One of the most engaging points of the show was definitely the concept. As an audience member, what I saw were three similarly dressed actors engaged in movement that seemed mostly self-generated in the moment. They didn’t seem to be working off each other, nor the music or lights. In this way, the piece itself contained a rawness that I struggled to rationalize. Was there a story to this? Or was this a sensory experience that I had to enjoy? Upon further thought and discussion, it seems that there was a narrative- to me, it felt as though all three actors were working against three separate backdrops whilst on the same set; not quite engaging, but rather existing. This seemed to echo the alienation of the busy lifestyles of Singaporeans. Each actor’s tempo seemed to represent a different pace of life- while Rizman Putra was the fast-paced that inevitably reached a sticky end, Vanda Seetoh Yu Wen seemed to represent the slower-paced masses that sometimes got caught up in the flow towards progress. Hakeem Kasban’s journey, however, contrasted the other two, with his progress sending him climbing up and off the ground, symbolizing someone who chose their own path through life. This possible narrative wasn’t something that could be superficially seen- immediately after the show, I walked out wondering what on earth I had just seen. This highly conceptual piece definitely has its place in Cake’s repertoire of works.

The main star of the show weren’t the actors. In a brilliant display of surround sound, the music had a focus on vibrating bass that set your blood pumping, and was the first thing the audience was exposed to in the darkness. Jeffrey Yue did a good job with Yasuhiro Morinaga’s original composition, adapting it to utlise as a tool in navigating the audience’s attention to where it needed to be- subtle cues in the music that I couldn’t pick up tangibly directed me where I needed to look. In that way, the music wasn’t invasive, despite it’s loud volume and excess at times- though I would have appreciated and been interested to see how the production ran with moments of silence. It got quite overwhelming at certain points, especially when in tandem with the strobe lighting over Rizman towards the end. There were other points where I wanted to tune out of the music and just listen to the actors’ breaths. Ultimately, however, the music was crucial to the piece, and formed the crux of the experience.

Lights were largely for symbolism and spectacle in the piece, and Stage ‘Live’s design would have worked best with a tightly choreographed piece instead of one running off visual cues. At times in the performance, especially when Rizman and Vanda began their series of jumps and jerky motions, the lights could have been more attentive to the mood of the piece- as it was, I found the strobe a bit too violent at that moment. On the other hand, the fact that it was so attentive to the piece helped move it towards a satisfying end- the moments of blackout had me on the edge of my seat, as I listened attentively to the music, and the simple act of turning on house lights at the end made for a clear ending to the piece.

Jed Lim’s traverse set was a simple setup that allowed for all three journeys to exist in the space. Being able to see the audience on the other side and the small size of the group overall made for an intimate atmosphere that became a great lead-in to the performance. However, I would have appreciated a whole view of the stage if the aim was to watch all three together, and I felt as though the set itself became a backdrop. I would have loved to see more interaction with the parts of the set that were specific to each actor- while Rizman and Hakeem utilized them quite well, I felt as though Vanda didn’t quite feel comfortable with hers. With the parts of the set defined specifically for each actor, it helped encourage the concept of alienation.

All in all, Decimal Points 0 was an enjoyable sensory experience that challenged the notion of theatrical pieces- the spectacle was riveting, the concept worthwhile, and the execution treaded the line of performance art. While the idea of setting raw concept onstage seems a bit too didactic and overwhelming for me, the piece makes a great argument as to why sometimes entertainment shouldn’t mask it’s true motivations.

S.

#cake #caketheatricalproductions #decimalpoints #andylim