Sandee Chew delivers a gripping performance in 'Polygamy', one of the stories in 'Poly', a new theatre production showing at DPAC in Petaling Jaya until Feb 16. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
It's a mad world out there, and in playwright Ian Skatu’s first full-length play Poly, you’re immediately thrown into the deep.
From start to finish, the audience is taken along on a wild ride through three stories that explore the challenges and pitfalls we face when attempting to communicate with one another.
Poly is showing at the Black Box, Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) in Petaling Jaya until Feb 16.
Each story in the play has the word “poly” in its title: in Polygraph we encounter a deceptive criminal and a detective trying to get to the bottom of the truth for a murder; in Polygon, we follow a cult as they navigate a stranger’s existence in their world; and in Polygamy, after a tangled love triangle ends in tragedy, we (and the characters) try to make sense of what really happened.
“It’s serious, but also seriously unserious at the same time,” says Skatu, also an actor, producer and musical composer, about the play.
Engku Armand (left) and Omar Ali trying to fork out some sense in Polygamy. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
“The foundation of all three stories stems from this idea of communication and how it’s such a fragile thing, coupled with the notion of truth – there are so many versions of ‘the truth’; so can more than one truth be true?” he adds.
Skatu, who’s currently based in Singapore, admits that “never in a million years” did he think he would write a full-length play.
“I got my start in theatre as a composer, writing music for musicals. But when it comes to scripts, they’ve always been really daunting to me. However, with Poly, everything just felt right,” he shares.
Kinetic synchronicity
Watching the cast rehearse the play from top to bottom, it’s noticeable how every small detail – from the way a single word is emphasised to the rhythmic tapping of a finger – plays a part.
Starring Anne James, Omar Ali, Sandee Chew, and Engku Armand, the multi-generational cast portray vastly different roles in each story, yet they easily switch from one character to the next.
‘It’s great when you’re working with others who are on the same page. I think we’ve become a good team,’ says Anne James. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
There’s also a kinetic synchronicity between them as the play unfolds, where each actor riffs off the others’ energies, a cause-and-effect in action.
In a group interview during a break at rehearsal, Engku Armand, 26, points out that all the stories in Poly touch on some aspect of communication.
“In Polygon, for example, it’s inspired by corporate communications and how people just spout all this jargon, expecting everyone to understand it, but it sounds like complete gibberish to an outsider. Or sometimes they have this vision of the world that’s totally different from how others see it. It made me realise that it’s not so different from a cult, really,” he says.
On stage, the three performances present sharply contrasting stories, keeping the audience engaged.
James, 70, says, “In Poly, I feel like Ian has created three separate worlds that are very distinctly different – the rhythms are different, the tone.”
“But then in each piece, there’s an outsider. And I think that’s something that’s relatable because everyone has, at one point in their life, felt like an outsider,” adds Omar, 42.
Anne James’ character (second, left) attempts to make sense of a cult’s odd practices and language in 'Polygon'. Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
For Chew, director Cheong Chua’s ability to bring Skatu’s detailed script to life while also allowing the actors room to experiment with their roles made working on the production a lot more fun.
“In the script, we have the rules and the structure, but there was room for us to play with it, to go with our impulses and see where that would take the performance,” she explains.
“It might seem like everything is improvised, but it’s not,” says Engku Armand.
“What I love about this approach is that sometimes you have an external order which is imposed upon you. But in this instance, the external is actually the chaos. So to make sense of it, we had to internally build the order ourselves instead. It’s a wonderful process,” adds Omar.
The quartet admit that the show tests both their physical and mental limits – its run-time is 90 minutes without intermission – but also that it’s gotten easier over time, as they’ve been rehearsing since November last year and have had plenty of time to refine their performance.
James, who is the most experienced of the group, shares, “Talent is whether you can physically and mentally do it. And whether you’re willing to just jump off the cliff, so to speak. So it’s great when you’re working with others who are on the same page. I think we’ve become a good team.”
‘I would love for the audience to leave the show cooking up theories, like ‘What was happening?’,’ says Cheong Chua (second, left). Photo: The Star/Azman Ghani
Beyond the cast’s chemistry, there’s an air of playfulness throughout the show that keeps the audience engaged, from fourth wall-breaking dialogue to the cheeky recorded audio that plays between stories as the stage is being set. (There’s even a part in the play where you’ll get to join in the fun by throwing some paper airplanes – but be sure to pay attention when the cue comes!)
Stories with heart
Having previously collaborated on projects like Coyotes and Mr Lonely & Other Motivational Videos, Chua knew he wanted to direct Poly as soon as Skatu shared the script with him.
“When he came to me with the fully developed three-piece, I thought ‘wow, the stories are tremendous’ – they’re very smart and funny.
“But most importantly, they’re stories with a very strong human heart to it, and that’s the part that’s Ian – his tenderness, his frustration with the world, his capacity to love. So I immediately knew that I had to do this project,” says Chua.
Chua hopes the show resonates with the audience.
'It’s serious, but also seriously unserious at the same time,' says Ian Skatu, playwright, about the theatre show 'Poly'. Photo: Ian Skatu
“I would love for them to leave the show cooking up theories. Not about the meaning of the show, but asking more theoretical questions, like ‘What was happening?’ because that’s fun,” he adds.
“Here’s a show about people who are crazy and illogical and struggling with it all. But if we as a collective can laugh at how crazy everything is, both in the play and in the real world, maybe we can find the ease of body and mind to keep going. The world is crazy and it’s okay."
Also, since it is Valentine’s Day season this week, would Poly be a recommended date night?
“If you want to excite your partner, warn your partner, or maybe even ask them for a break-up, one of the stories from Poly will surely fit the bill,” concludes Skatu, cheekily.
Poly is playing at Black Box, Damansara Performing Arts Centre at Empire Damansara, Petaling Jaya in Selangor until Feb 16. More info here.
