Theatre review: Chestnuts 50: The UnbelYeevable Jubilee Edition

SINGAPORE — The events that have taken place thus far this SG50 year should be fodder enough for a feast of well-penned humour. It comes, therefore, with some irony that the latest instalment of the sketch show Chestnuts, in its attempt to parody anything and everything Singaporean, falls short of expectations, particularly in its choice of material.

Written and directed by Jonathan Lim, who stars alongside Chestnuts regulars Judee Tan and Dwayne Lau, as well as first-timers Faizal Abdullah and Joshua Lim, the show takes shots at everything from the passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew to actor Chen Tianwen’s hit parody song Unbelievable.

And yet, Chestnuts feels lamentably insular, with a number of its sketches parodying the theatre scene. For instance, the actors spend much of the first act spoofing the recent Lee Kuan Yew musical, which starred Adrian Pang and Sharon Au, playing mostly on criticism of Au’s accented English and her ability to sing. A significant portion of the second act also ridicules theatre productions such as Wild Rice’s Monkey Goes West, Cake Theatrical’s Versus and Toy Factory’s Titoudao. Just in case members of the audience did not understand the quips because they have not seen or heard of the plays, a narrator reads a short description for each play — which defeats the purpose because you know what happens to jokes when you try to explain them.

There is also an oddly serious segment riffing off The Esplanade’s recent programme featuring 50 Singaporean plays. Though probably a fitting tribute to the history of local theatre, it felt long and unwieldy, and quite incongruous to the rest of the show.

Amid the feeble puns, dull jokes and tired innuendos, Tan shines with her versatility and uncanny ability to mimic accents. Tan switches easily and effortlessly from a Filipino Broadway performer from Singapura: The Musical, to “Sunny Ho” (Chestnuts’ version of singer and City Harvest co-founder Sun Ho), to a very convincing impression of Sharon Au’s portrayal of Madam Kwa Geok Choo.

Chestnuts may or may not have been more entertaining — or at least relevant — if the Media Development Authority had not insisted on pulling out a scene involving court-embattled teenager Amos Yee.

As it stands, however, for what is supposed to be a “roast”, there is not much fire in Chestnuts. Hon Jing Yi

Chestnuts 50: The UnbelYeevable Jubilee Edition runs until Sept 27, 8pm (with 3pm weekend matinees), at Drama Centre Theatre. Tickets from S$45 to S$65 at SISTIC.