Beyond Extraordinary

Extraordinary Bridge

"Australia had been bled dry by the First World War,
flattened by the Great Depression,
and for the nation to create this extraordinary bridge
right in the centre of our most important gateway city
is like an adrenaline shot of confidence for a nation that had been on its knees."

-Malcolm Turnbull, Sydney Harbour Bridge 75th anniv.


We all need something to drive us on through our darkest ages.
Something beyond extraordinary.

What's yours?





Paris Je T'aime

Rushed into the front seat without anticipating a mosaic of 18 stories reflecting the essence of Paris.
Its colorful ways of life, scenic locations, and most of all, interpretations of love and separation.



Supposedly anyway.
Wasn't it featured in the Cannes Festival?

It ended up feeling more like an 18-ad "Come visit Paris" though.
Not that it was horrendous.
Interestingly well done, some stories were.
Some just felt like 5 min superstar fill-ins.
But then again, that would have been expected of with an ambitious 18 director/writers invite.

It might have been more substantial should they reduce the numbers to stories that are more pertinent, and unique to Parisian life.
Like the mimes' child of love (Adorable. My fav.).
Love affairs between the old and the young.
A gay's love at first sight. (Controversial. I like.)
Even vampires could fall in love (Absolutely corny, but love it. Lol)

Not bad, but not extraordinary either.
But at least, it made me hunger for a visit to France even more.
Maybe it was quite an effective tourism tool after all.

Here's the trailer for the curious.
When in doubt, just watch it. Who knows, you might like it.





Titoudao

Entered the theatre also not knowing what to expect other than ramblings in chinese dialects.
But heck, wouldn't mind attempting to get in touch with my roots when offered free tics to the nation's Play of the Year.



It didn't leave me disappointed.
Genuinely appreciated the neo-Chinese opera scenes,
its transcription of Asia's almost-forgotten history of "wayang",
and the writer's effort of narrating the history of a struggling street opera actress
the unpretentiously local way,
as inspired by the life experiences of Madam Oon
(nope, no Queen's english here, with pride).

So original it was in portraying the rakyat's history and identity,
that it overshadowed "The Forbidden City" production in terms of the energy, the acting, as well as the script imo.



Even Titoudao's mise-en-scene reflected the amount of effort put in to make the experience memorable to the audience:
The various stage sets to alternate between the 70s and the chinese opera show.
The bamboo sets to build the wayang house.
The interactive changing of costumes onstage.
The use of image projectors as a modern mixed medium technique for theatre.
The light decorations that extended to the auditorium to blur the boundary between the audience and the performers.

Sadly not many may appreciate it as much due to its steep price (as justified by it's extensive set budget): $40-60 vs. $20-40 for a smaller-scale local production.
Nevertheless, I wouldn't mind checking out more of these productions.
Guess I haven't lost much of my artsy side after all. Lol

Can't wait for Phantom of the Opera.
Oh the anticipation.
Will it be extraordinary?