Mood: A tad tired
Currently listening to: Run - Lighthouse Family



Went to the beautiful Malaysian National Theatre to watch the Actors Studio's rendition of the classic Rashomon - made internationally famous by none other than Kurosawa himself in his movie of the same name.

The premise of this play centers around the murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife, possibly at the hands of a notorious bandit with the present taking place between three men who are sheltering from a storm at the Rashomon Gate, and who while away the time by discussing the murder which has shaken the area. The three men are a priest, a commoner, and a woodcutter who claimed to have bore witness to the chilling event. The story unfolds as flashbacks through the testimonies of the four witnesses to the event, namely the bandit and the woman (who testify before a judge), the samurai (who tells all through a seance), and the woodcutter. All four stories portray similar details as to how the events transpired, but a lot of difference is inherent as well - all of which is very much like what was portrayed in, say, The Usual Suspects. Of course, the strangest commonality in this story is that all of the witnesses claim to be the murderer (except for the woodcutter, who claims to have watched the events unfold)! For example, the samurai claims to have witnessed the rape AND commited suicide, while in the bandit's version of the tale he admits to killing the samurai in a fight while denying the rape and claiming that it was consensual. Nothing is what it seems. All the stories seem believable and compelling, while the one who seems to be the impartial oberver (the woodcutter) incorporates elements of all three, but which at the same time seems the least believable (hey, i thought so).

So, while on the surface we have what seems like a complex and intriguing murder mystery, there are many subtle undertones within the play that hint or point us to other aspects inherent in such a tale. For one, while there is an explanation of the four eyewitness accounts, there is no solution. In this sense the play is an exploration into that of human nature - namely, that it is our instinct to listen to all the stories and strive for a solution when there is none. Hell, even the first words in the play from the woodcutter represent exactly this aspect - "I just don't understand". Rather it is a matter of our perspective, both the listeners and those who bore witness, distorting reality that makes the discovery of absolute truth... well... unknowable. Sort of like the common phenomenon of multiple people witnessing the same event but describing it in different ways while maintaining similar overarching details. This is evident in the play with each of the eyewitnesses portraying the other characters, and indeed - themselves, in completely different ways to each other. Take the woman for example. In some tales she seems stereotypically helpless, in others it seems as though she possesses a devious and malicious cunning to manipulate the two to fight each other, resulting in the samurai's death. See? Simple, yet complex but oh so very entrapping! What a story!!! :)

The acting was, i felt, very well done, with the most impressive performance being that of the bandit and samurai (i don't know the names of the actors unfortunately - RM20 for a programme is too rich for my blood!). Well, when contrasted to that horrendous Hang Li Po piece i saw a while back at any rate. *urgh* The scars from THAT experience still remain. And the props! My God, they were beautiful!!! Most of the action took place on a wide catwalk in the middle of the stage, while the expanse of ground on either side was littered with actually leaves which lent itself to the forest theme very well. On top of this, they had everything from bamboo props which decended from the ceiling (aiding the forest feel even more), to the massive moveable ruins of the Rashomon Gate, and an actual fountain of pouring water to simulate the rain! Adn as if that wasn't enough the amazing musical score was done live with the players on a hydraulic stage in the background (something which was in direct contrast to the horrendous Hang Li Po musical and voice dubbing). As i said, the props and environment were, quite simply, nothing short of EXCELLENT.

A few thematic novelties (as opposed to the film) were to be seen here as well. Comic relief was provided by the four Rashomon Gate Guardians who taunted the characters throughout, while providing for the occasional chuckle and heightening of emotions during certain scenes. The monk/priest was well done, with the character speaking in Mandarin throughout the play - giving him a sense of being enigmatic in that the majority of the audience could only understand what he was saying through translations or the continuation of the conversation by the other characters. Likewise, the judge was likewise interestingly portrayed by having him appear as a shadowy figure contrasted by the light in the background (while the characters spoke towards the audience - giving the suspension of belief that they were talking to him) and speaking in Japanese, similarly to the way in which the priest does. Top marks for creativity and use of the space available.

Hrmmm... come to think of it, the only gripe i really had with the play was that certain characters were not very clear in their dialogue. Frustrating at times but not altogether too bad.

But the plot - wow! Now i remember why its a classic! ;)

An excellent play, with never a dull moment - go catch it now you fools!!!

Five out of five smileys!