pass.ages

conceptualised and directed by Sim Yan Ying
written by Jean Tay
choereographed by Dapheny Chen
Esplanade: The Studios (TRIP)
Esplanade Theatre Studio, Singapore

TRIP is a commendable career development initiative by the Esplanade Studios team to shed a spotlight on emerging directors. It gives directors a platform to showcase works at an established venue over a two-year period and guidance from a Resource Panel of experienced theatre-makers. For its inaugural edition last year, the two successful candidates - Sim Yan Ying and Renee Yeong - each picked a script from an assigned pool. This year, they were given free rein to present a work of their own choosing. 

Sim has shown herself to be someone keen on exploring the human experience in all its messy complications. Her devised works Who's There? and Where Are You?, staged in both Singapore and the US, confidently tackled issues such as race, privilege and grief, refracted through the unique and personal stories of individuals. In pass.ages, she works with veteran playwright Jean Tay and choreographer Dapheny Chen to explore yet another thorny topic that simply does not get talked about enough: women and ageing.

Comprised of a series of vignettes, we are introduced to four women, each at different stages of their life. Elderly Ching (Dana Lam) battles dementia in a nursing home and locks horns with a new caregiver. Shivani (Nirmala Seshadri), a bharatanatyam dancer in her fifties, questions her relevance in an industry that prioritises youth. 39-year-old Ogy (Suhaili Safari) wants to have a child but struggles to get pregnant. Finally, teenage Millie (Shanice Stanislaus), is forced to confront her own mortality in the face of a terminal illness. The individual stories do not intersect but come together to paint a vivid tapestry of ageing and the challenges faced by women at different points in life. 

Photo Credit: Crispian Chan

There are some truly powerful moments here that strike a chord. Ogy tells us how menstruation can be both a blessing and a curse; the very thing that once made her feel dirty and unclean is what she so desperately needs as she races against the biological clock. Shivani delivers a wistful monologue on how her star has faded over the years just like her body. In an amusing yet bittersweet scene, Shanice wonders how much of her life she can prolong if her gives up all her favourite unhealthy foods. One does not need to be of the same age or gender as these characters to feel the inexorable passage of time and the importance of living each day to the fullest.

One of the issues with a vignette-heavy production such as this is that certain stories can feel better developed than others. We are never told about the significance of the mirror Ching clings on to for most of the play or provided much of her backstory. Poetic scenes featuring Ogy making trips to Kusu Island and being overwhelmed by waves tend to slow the narrative down. Genevieve Peck's kaleidoscopic multimedia projections and Gabriel Chan and Jing Ng's evocative light and sound designs go some way in setting the scene but at 100 minutes without an intermission, the production feels a little too long and could benefit from tighter editing and more incisive dramaturgy. 

Photo Credit: Crispian Chan

The individual scenes are broken up by movement sequences choreographed by Chen that unite the four performers on stage. While they allow a shift in tone, these abstract interludes do not always feel organic and there is a sense that we are constantly in a limbo, played out on a set that itself evokes a barren, dream-like landscape. 

pass.ages is not a perfect production by any means but there is a certain chutzpah for a young director to helm a production that tackles such a complex and universal topic and place her own unique stamp on it. It is indeed a pleasure and privilege to see performers spanning four decades in age and experience come together and kudos to Sim for assembling such a strident showcase of female agency onstage.

The Crystalwords score: 3/5