Pangdemonium – Patricia Tobin

A Renewed Hope: an interview with the cast from “Waiting For The Host”

So who went and made Zoom the default communication tool for 2020? We conduct Zoom meetings for work, for weddings, for webinars, and alas, for performances, like in Pangdemonium’s first ever digital play Waiting For The Host. It is intriguing and alarming, how this platform has dominated our digital discourse in less than a year.

In fact, for my interviews with several cast members of Waiting For The Host — Neo Swee Lin, Petrina Kow, Keagan Kang and Adrian Pang, Pangdemonium’s artistic director — I suggest having a chat on Zoom or via phone. Most of them choose Zoom.

Watching “The Pitch” made me miss theatre – like, a lot

The Pitch, a short film co-produced by Pangdemonium, Singapore Repertory Theatre and WILD RICE, premiered about three weeks ago now. It follows the three companies pitching for a fictional COVID-19 friendly show. The cast all play themselves (Adrian Pang, Gaurav Kripalani, and Ivan Heng), and poke fun at their own male egos. But boy, watching The Pitch make me miss Singapore theatre so, so much.

For the past couple of years, I have a rolling Google doc entitled “Theatre schedule”, where I will list all the plays I wanted to catch every month, ticket price, whether I’ve booked it and whether I’ve written a review for this blog. It was last updated March 9.

“The Son” review: on losing control

Warning: This review contains light spoilers.

When it comes to mental illnesses, the youth are most at risk. In fact, nearly half of mental illnesses appear before age 14, with the rate of appearance increasing to 75% before age 24.¹ The Son tackles this topic head on.

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“This Is What Happens To Pretty Girls” review: these grey areas

If you can’t hear what I’m trying to say
If you can’t read from the same page

Pangdemonium’s This Is What Happens To Pretty Girls opens with a glimpse of a dance floor. With strobe lights and loud music, dance floors are typically ripe with grimy behaviour, bodies drenched with sweat and alcohol. It is a brief scene, but it is a space that most are familiar with, and a space that This Is What Happens… tries to replicate and expand into domestic and work scenes.

This Is What Happens… attempts to show that these spaces are at times a breeding ground for sexual harassment and abuse, especially as Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” is featured at least twice in the first half. The play turns the song on its head: blurred lines no longer alludes to a “she drives me crazy saying no when I know she wants it” stance, but more on the many confusing implications of what consent really means. Yes means yes, but what if you didn’t mean it? What if you change your mind? Consent is not simple because sex, dating and relationships are not simple. With a compelling narrative and a strong ensemble cast, This Is What Happens… successfully encapsulates these grey areas, painting a clear picture of a murky territory.

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