Lao Jiu The Musical (Part 1/4)

Time is Nov '05. As mentioned in past entries, i m into this musical by Shi Jian Ju Chang. Honestly, i learnt alot from this collaboration with Shi Jian. Though i just take up a minor role, but i got to know lots of ppl, & seriously learnt alot. Even thinking oso a bit change. After all, these theatre ppl always are always innovating. Whether in terms of thinking or productions, always got their own unique styles. =)

For this entry, i shall include the plot of Lao Jiu, and state out why i sincerely feel its a good script.. Kuo Pao Kun is really a genius with his She Hui Zhu Ti Ju Chang, always ever pointing out the 'sickness' of our society. Yup, to him, he may haf viewed it as sickness and other audience/ critics may not think tt the point he brought out is a type of 'sickness' but anyway tt's not impt. What impresses me is tt he managed to bring out these points which r close to our life and tt we can relate so closely to the script.. The plot goes like this:

Lao Jiu, the ninth child of the family, only son, is the pride & joy of his father, an ex-gangster. It was foretold that this brillant young man will achieve great success in life. Now on the brink of winning a prestigious scholarship (for the gifted) that will ensure a glorious career, Lao Jiu finds himself more fascinated by Puppetry, a dying art which no youngsters r interested. He yearns to be a student of Shifu, his dad's cloest friend. Torn between reality & dreams, modernity & tradition, he is determined to find his destiny.

Eventually he gave up the scholarship though he topped among all e gifted, and went on to learn puppetry from Shifu. But the plot has many underlying themes, it isn't just abt Arts Vs. Stable job kinda theme. 1stly, his father is like my parents, relatively lowly educated. He was a gangster when young, stayed with Martial Arts sch, learnt Wushu and didnt haf $$ to go study at all, not even primary sch. Having the only son who was highly gifted, it's natural he would want his son to get the scholarship & hence stable job & dun need like him slog like mad for the entire life. This comes in the theme abt our parents always telling us to study hard, get a degree, come out & haf a stable job..

However, his passion was in puppetry. Actually, tt is what is in the script but actually audience can interpret it in any way, u can simply put urself into Lao Jiu's shoes, and replace Puppetry with Dance/ Music/ Visual Arts/ Wushu/ whatever arts. So the theme abt Passion Vs Reality. So How? Usually ppl say those who do arts end up with no money, will be damn poor etc. So do u want a luxurious life or u dun mind as long as u spend everyday fruitfully doing what u love most?

So eventually, there is a conflict between him & his entire family, cos their hopes are all on him. So the issue here is: Filial Piety Vs Pursuing ur own dream? If u give up scholarship, u give up a successful career which can bring ur family out of poverty, in such a way, u failed ur parents, thereby considered unfilial. Or would u choose to pursue ur dreams & passion?

Next, the hint in the script abt dying art. If nobody takes up Arts as full-time jobs, such as Lao Jiu, eventually It will be too late and e Art will be totally lost. This is the interesting part in the script. In the ending, when Lao Jiu finally decided to learn puppetry from Shifu, Shifu died of a terminal illness 3 months later. N it was not stated in the ending whether did he learn everything he ought to from Shifu b4 he died. I mean, so what if Lao Jiu decided to learn? It was only 3 months, i dun think he learnt everything. In a certain way, the art may be considered lost. The issue is: When society such as Singapore does not place emphasis on dying arts, eventually it gets lost. I dare say many forms of arts in Singapore r already facing similar fate. Eg. Puppetry, Chinese Opera, Gao Qiao, and some music instruments in Chinese Orchestra.

The conflict here is tt nobody is right nor wrong. Its only natural tt parents want their child to haf stable income etc, but neither is Lao Jiu's fault if he decides to puruse his dreams. The conflict is tt, if Lao Jiu pursues his dream, he has to carry the 'name' of unfilial, selfish, not providing for parents' old age etc. Anyway, in the end of the drama, Lao Jiu's father passed away too not long after Shifu passed away. N the family members who once doted on him, started to 'mind their own business' so in a certain way, the family is no longer as close as b4. N Lao Jiu embarks on his lonely journey as an artist (puppetry). It is just a very bei ai ending.

The presentation of the script thru a musical is oso v good, can feel the sadness in every1, in the entire story.... There is alot to read from the show, i cant spell out everything cos its too much, even a simple dialogue has hidden meaning/ implications. So yup, its really a great script! =)