REVIEW: The Ugly Duckling 丑小鸭

I was thrilled when I found out about the return of The Ugly Duckling. It debuted its English play 12 years ago in 2005 and now we have the first Chinese instalment of this sold-out production directed by Danny Yeo! I had high expectations for 丑小鸭 because 金发姑娘和三只熊 was a powerhouse play. However, unlike all other musicals that were staged by professional adult actors, this was quite different. The actors weren't the stars of the show anymore. Puppets were!

丑小鸭 was a puppet. The cute little yellow ducklings were also puppets. The barnyard friends - dog, cat and rooster - were all puppets. No prizes for guessing right but the graceful swan that ugly duckling grew up to become was also a puppet. Yet, there were only three puppeteers on stage to command the whole show! For that, we should already applaud them for their superb staging skills. While we get pulled into the story watching these well-made life-size puppets (kudos to the production team for ingenuity - those slippers!), I slowly directed my attention to the actors. They performed with emotions and gave these animals their voices. When 丑小鸭 was sad, its puppeteer reflected its feelings with a woeful face and vice versa. Very dedicated bunch of actors I must say.

I love it that they gave a heartwarming twist to Hans Christian Andersen's original story where Mother Duck abandoned The Ugly Duckling just because it looked different. Here at the play, Mother Duck did not give up on 丑小鸭 and protected it even when it was ridiculed by other animals. They retold the story by sharing how unconditional a mother's love can be. Just how I like our children to grow up to know. People all are different. They are fat or thin or tall but it's what you have inside that matters most of all. To every mother, their little duckling is so very special in their own little ways. Like how I feel about mine.

The musical was staged in a story-telling setting with a narrater opening a large book that unfolded the story page by page. Isabella Chiam brought out the best in the children. She was hilarious and engaging! I found Ewan answering to many of her questions thrown towards the crowd.

Isabella asked, “你们要听什么故事呀？”

Ewan and the crowd went, “ 丑小鸭！”

Isabella implored, “你说！丑小鸭美不美？”

Ewan and the crowd went, “美！”

Isabella implored, “我们可以嘲笑别人吗？”

Ewan and the crowd went, “不可以！”

The interaction (crowd to stage, stage to crowd) was undeniably high. We even had a skyfall of autumn leaves from overhead which made us all squeal in wonderment. The children obviously loved it. However, I didn't quite like it that the singing came only half an hour after the show opened. In all, there were only three songs in the last 30 minutes and they weren't as gripping as The Three Billy Goats Gruff and 金发姑娘和三只熊. Perhaps I had been spoilt from other theatrical plays where almost everything had a song to it. Hmm... and I probably am not a puppet person. It didn't call out to me like 金发姑娘和三只熊. I am still singing by memory snippets of that play but not to this. Wishing hard that Singapore Repertory Theatre will cut a CD for 金发姑娘和三只熊 soon! Yikes! Side-tracked!

That said, it is the only show we've caught thus far that doesn't have any dark or scary scenes. If you've caught The Three Billy Goats Gruff, you would have recalled that frightful troll under the bridge or the loud sounds of bulldozers that threatened to run down the Bears' forest. Ewan cringed at those scenes (teared even) but there was none to cringe at in 丑小鸭.

From a child's point of view, this was a swell performance. Immediately after curtain call, Ewan said a-matter-of-factly, "I want to watch it again." That is endorsement enough for 丑小鸭 don't you think? Danny Yeo and his team reached out cleverly to their target audience - the children - with morals told by puppets. Children can believe and relate to them; they can enter and explore the fascinating inventive world that puppets create. That probably is the reason why my children, yea both, were enthralled by the show.

Faye was ready to nap the moment we entered the cosy theatre at DBS Arts Centre. I had her in cradle position and once the show started, she turned her attention towards the stage and watched it attentively from start to finish without fussing a bit. This play is recommended for children 5 years and up. It is also stated that infant-in-arms and children aged 2 and below are not advisable. Looks like they've succeeded even for a one year old! So even though it isn't the show for me, it was for them!

Do not forget to grab a copy of programme booklet. There are two activities in there suitable for children of two different age groups. The younger ones get 3 pages of coloring fun while the older ones get to play some intellectual word games (in mandarin of course).

Aren't the children of today extremely lucky? They are exposed to the Arts scene in Singapore with our own local theatre production companies that bring professional plays to the set. I hear that weekday shows are now left with single seats so if you do not want to miss this, don't forget to book it right after you are done reading ay? May I just say that Row E in the Stalls gives you a great view of the whole stage with no blind spots at all.

VENUE: DBS Arts Centre – Home of SRT
ADMISSION PRICE: From $35
DATE: 10 Jul – 1 Aug 2015
TIME: Monday – Friday, 10am, Weekends and Public Holidays, 11am and 2pm
BOOK: Sistic

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A stay at home mum, blogging to widen her social life. We want to echo the sound of love through our lives to inspire other mothers alike.