‘December Rains’ Review: Singapore’s First Original Mandarin Musical
PUBLISHED September 25th, 2015 03:07 am | UPDATED June 5th, 2020 08:38 pm
December Rains is Singapore’s first original Mandarin musical. Written by veteran songwriters Liang Wern Fook and Jimmy Ye, it was first staged in 1996, again in 2010 – starring Kit Chan – and it is only fitting that a piece of this stature and significance is now staged again in 2015 in conjunction with Toy Factory’s 25th anniversary.
Spanning three decades, the musical’s plot follows two ill-fated lovers, Ying Xiong and Li Qing, who met when they were students in the 1950s but separated because of a miscommunication brought about by a common friend, Ming Li, who was also in love with Li Qing. Despite well-laid plans to get married in China, Li Qing is prevented from meeting Ying Xiong by her parents as they are in opposition to the couple’s plan to leave for China to fight for their motherland. Unknown to her parents, Li Qing is pregnant with Ying Xiong’s baby. She sends Ming Li with a note to Ying Xiong with the news that Ming Li fails to deliver, and Ying Xiong leaves for China. Years later, Ying Xiong and Li Qing – with their grown daughter Meng Yu – meet again due to a twist of fate and ‘December Rains’ follows the straining and rebuilding of relationships that accompanies this encounter with the past.
While one may have seen this story in many guises in real life or on screen, December Rains, with its grand sets and heartfelt tunes, really does strike a chord with audiences. I was reminded of the ever-present, timeless complexities of human relationships which are true today as it was in the not-so-distant past where handwritten letters and face-to-face meetings were the only means of communication. Sugie Phua was superb in his portrayal of Ming Li, standing out as a character who epitomises the contradictions, hard choices, and unspoken words that each of us likely face throughout the course of life. Chriz Tong also did well playing Li Qing, managing to capture both her youthful lovestruck persona as well as the toughened mother that she later becomes.
Looking beyond the acting and the props, ‘December Rains’ owes its soul to the music that makes this performance a must-watch, especially for Singaporeans who grew up listening to Liang Wern Fook and Jimmy Ye’s tunes. Backed by a full orchestra, the effortless melodies and harmonies play into and create the rhythm for the plot, giving the performance a form of depth that no dialogue can. The repeated strains of the song ‘Please Let Him Know’ captures the essence of December Rains perfectly, and I was glad to find renditions of it on YouTube for my journey home.
Toy Factory has done extremely well with this re-staging and I was glad to see young faces in the audience and hear their loud gasps of shock and voracious laughter, which provided a fitting atmosphere for a musical such as this. It is my hope that many more who did not live through the 1950s get to watch ‘December Rains’ and revel in the glory of its characters, plot and music – in the re-stagings to come.
December Rains happened from Friday, 28 August to Sunday, 6 September 2015 at the Esplanade Theatre.
