Review: AIDA at The Singapore Airlines Theatre, An eye-opening performance from the upcoming local gems.

"Leave! Go back, it is not safe here!" shouts came from the sides of the foyer as we were collecting our tickets at the box office. " We want our Egypt back!" there were protesters holding posters and signs. Suddenly one hurriedly came up to me and my friend, and thrust in our hands a flyer and told us to join him in the revolution, the flyer reads - 25 Jan 2011, Tahrir Square

We found ourselves in the conflict zone of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, where protesters on stage were shouting "Down with Mubarak!" as we entered The Singapore Airlines Theatre of LASALLE College of the Arts. We settled down to watch the latest production of Aida, as part of The Lasalle Show, an annual graduation showcase.

A musical based on the opera of its namesake written by Antonio Ghislanzoni with music by Giuseppe Verdi, Aida was given a modern treatment. With music exuding Elton John's distinctive pop-rock flair, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang.

Aida, based on a true story found in Papyrus and re-written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, tells the story of forbidden love and feminism. The titular character Aida (Vanessa Kee), a beautiful Nubian princess, was captured by an Egyptian general, Radames (Joash Tang) and in turn, the pair fell in love while a rampant war between both countries brews.

This production heavily emphasised the showcase aspect through the direction and choreography by Joe Barros. From physical theatre involving the audience even before the show started to the great use of space where the actors walked through the theatre stalls during the scenes, well beyond the constraints of the stage made us felt as if we were part of the show. There was technology (more on this later) and innovative interpretations in the telling of Aida.

Sirens blared throughout the hall, signalling the law enforcement's arrival, and also the start of the show. We see the brutality against the protesters, which resulted in many killed and injured before the focus drew to an on-site news reporter (Morgane Madeleine Breteche Lo) with her camera crew was giving live updates to the situation. The juxtaposition of the tumultuous events happening in this modern day and ancient Egypt made us think of how far we have come and a timely reminder of peace amongst trying times. An alternative and refreshing backdrop to the musical, compared to the original setting of a museum where the relics come to life, and instead, this offered a promising opportunity for the company to make this show their own.

The costumes and props used in the show were a hit and miss. An umbrella as a sword, a single piece of caution tape used as handcuffs and a fan casing as part of the princess' bridal veil were disappointing compared to the well dressed set (of rubble, crates, graffiti) and the extravagantly creative gowns made from caution tape, paper plates and even blown up rubber gloves showcased in the fashion runway scene in "My Strongest Suit". The costumes were also on two ends of the spectrum; there were both shabby looking and clean pressed ensemble cast members, which was quite odd for a conflict zone. There are also moments where we were in ancient Egypt, and others felt like a mash-up of a Legally Blonde - Hairspray number ("My Strongest Suit") with the handmaidens in active wear.

Being a graduation showcase, playing characters originated by the likes of Rene Scott and Heather Headley; there are nerves aplenty. The different accents from the various actors were quite distracting and at times made it hard to understand the dialogue. Singing had a rocky start for Lo and Kee, especially during the belting moments. But they soon recovered with both ladies nailing their big solo numbers in the show. Kee executed "The Gods Love Nubia" beautifully with grace and control.

The hard work of the entire cast and crew certainly paid off with the entertaining choreography and seamless scene changes. Recovery from the on-stage mishaps was also swift- the moment the truck's bumper fell off mid-scene, and where two dancers tripped while on a platform. The cast, unfazed, kept it together and the show carried on like professionals.

Lo's Amneris was hillarious and fun. As the spoilt high-fashion princess, she is a natural entertainer and captivated the room each time she enters the stage. The effortless and natural chemistry between Wee and Tang had us falling in love with the lovebirds, Aida and Radames. The show stealer was the entertaining villain, Chief Minister Zoser (Vester Ng Kian Soon) who breathes energy and life to the show by nailing his numbers and witty charisma.

Technology in the form of 'live' cameras with a projector screening the footage started as an innovative and fresh perspective, relevant to the scene of the protest. However, the cameras were in many of the subsequent scenes- too many. There was also an awkward moment where the follow spots were portable lights held by the stagehands which I felt were quite intrusive to what supposedly was an intimate moment and the close-ups which we saw took away some of the magic of live theatre. In turn, it was what works best for this form of filming was in "Radames' Letter" where the letter was 'live' written in both English Calligraphy and Ancient Egyptian Script.

Despite its shortcomings, Aida was still a great night out and an eye-opening performance from the upcoming gems. The graduating cohort of 2019 is full of promise and potential much like this staging. In due time, we should be able to see them glisten in the spotlight in the local arts scene and beyond.

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