|
Retrospect |
|
A US bombing operation in Central Asia kills an innocent man mistaking him for a wanted terrorist. His grieving mother and tough sister come asking for answers. A young soldier at the command base falls in love with the girl. As he gets involved in their helpless situation, he finds himself questioning his whole being: what is right, what he can believe in, whom he can trust? In a parallel drama, a former dictator (Igocheck) is on trial at Hague for war crimes. He and his wife come up with a clever defence strategy to twist what has been thought of as unshakable evidence. As the truth is hilariously blurred and certainty is questioned ad infinitum, justice seems unattainable. Can we really know for certain? The dilemma is captured in the young solder's words, "I don't know who we're fighting here. Everybody turns out to be someone else." Retrospect wants to spark debate and raise questions about political morality but to what extent it succeeds to do so is another story. In Mullin's words, "It aims to make the familiar seem strange, so that it can be examined by more scrutiny". But the 'familiar' hasn't quite been made so 'strange' that it would generate more profound questioning than what does in itself. Moreover, the point being made is simple but the play tries to present it in an unnecessarily deep manner. It is a sceptic's delight but it fails to go much farther than making the statement: How can we really know for certain? It is creditable that the play attempts to address some issues of immediate political relevance: war on terrorism, pre-emptive strikes, morality of US imperialism etc. But unfortunately, it doesn't really challenge the audience's mind much more than some news reports do. There is some technically sound stuff in the play and the stage presentation is particularly engaging and well done. Brandon Miller is the role of Karpan Igocheck delivers brilliant acting. Igocheck's character benefits from a crisp, funny and satirical script by Mullin. Mei Lim's performance as Madam Igocheck is also worthy of praise. But unfortunately, the other parallel thread of the storyline looks pale in comparison. The acting from both, the girl and the young solider (Stone and Bradely) is far from perfect and the content of their dialogues becomes tiring at times. The play may be applauded as a fresh piece of writing and a fair attempt
at examining the contemporary political morality but it leaves much wanting
in terms of its quality as good theatre as well as in its examination
of the questions it attempts to raise. |