THE BUTCHER'S SKIN, Yellow Earth, Tours till 2 Nov
TRUONG BA'S SOUL IN THE BUTCHER'S SKIN: adapted Quang Vu
Touring: Till 12 October: information 020 7209 2326, www.yellowearth.org
Runs: 90 mins, no interval
Review: Ranjit Khutan, mac Birmingham 20 September 2002
Thought provoking, humour and sadness, leaves you feeling enlightened.
TRUONG BA'S SOUL IN THE BUTCHER'S SKIN is a famous folk story from Vietnam that Luu Quang Vu adapted in 1983. The writer suffered an untimely death in 1988 but would have been proud to see Yellow Earth’s lavish and emotional production of the piece under the directorship of David KS Tse.
In the small mac space the set uses space ingeniously: the company uses screens for shadow montages, elaborate towering puppets supported by the cast and excellent lighting to add to the ambience of the moral that we are being taught. The script is a little rigid early in the piece but I can only assume that this is through translation, the text quickly progresses into a well paced and well accounted for piece.
Within the story we are presented with the classic extremes – life and death, a farmer and a butcher, youth and old age, good and evil: all hinge on each other to provide a comforting balance. Even though the play is an old tale we can see parallels today, for example Truong Ba’s son wanting to work in the town as a trader whereas his father wants him to continue in his footsteps and work in the fields.
The cast complement each other carrying the emotions of sadness and humour well. Munir Khairdin’s butcher is strong and solid. The point where the butcher’s skin is trapping the soul of the farmer is tricky but Khairdin pulls it off with style, consistently changing from one energy level to another effortlessly.
Veronica Needa and Liz Sutherland make a strong pair of wives: the happiness and sadness are shared and it becomes a tug of war, not just physically between them and the butcher’s skin/Truong Ba’s soul, but emotionally too.
An emotional thought provoking tale, full of humour and sadness: it leaves you feeling enlightened about life and shows there are no simple answers.
Bac Dau: Munir Khairdin
Nam Tao: Liz Sutherland
De Tich: Jonathan Chan Pensley/Munir Khairdin
Truong Ba: Kwong Loke
Truong Ba’s Wife: Veronica Needa
Son (of Truong Ba): Jonathan Chan Pensley
Daughter in law: Liz Sutherland
Little Gai: Puppet operated by cast
Little Ty: Puppet operated by cast
Truong Hoat: Jonathan Chan Pensley
The Butcher: Munir Khairdin
The Butchers Wife: Liz Sutherland
Pig dealer 1: Jonathan Chan Pensley
Pig dealer 2: Kwong Loke
Village Mayor: Kwong Loke
Village Head Guard: Jonathan Chan Pensley
Director: David KS Tse
Set and Costume Design: Claire Lyth
Lighting Designer: Douglas Kuhrt
Sound and Music Co-ordinator: Andrew Dodge
2002-10-03 09:47:32