First, a disclaimer: I can't critique this doublebill with confidence because it's performed in unsubtitled Tamil: a language I don't speak. Still, I'm amazed at the range of ideas and forms of performance that have found their way into these two new works by young playwrights. ("Puthiya Uthiram", by the way, means new blood.)
The Outsiders, for instance, includes slapstick comedy, social realism, abstract physical theatre, and Tamil and English, both colloquial and classical. Written by Raj Mohan, it centres on a bunch of twentysomethings sharing their personal stories as they hide out from the police in a liquor store. I found it a little unfocussed: what binds together a woman's tale of a marriage breakup, an over-long comedic anecdote about hiring a hooker on your birthday, and a fatal physics lab accident? Still, one of the themes packs a lasting punch: the question of what it means to be categorized as Indian or Tamil today in Singapore. An especially good performance by Vemalan Elangovan too.
Hanuman: The Awakening is an utterly different animal: an ambitious fusion of film and live theatre. We begin with a short movie segment introducing the young boxer Ravindran through a high-adrenaline series of flashbacks and match scenes, showcasing the high production values of director/writer James Kumar. Then Ravindran is knocked unconscious, and wakes up in the mythical realm of Hanuman and his fellow half-human, half-monkey Varunas, where he must discover his own divine strength. It's a little corny and a little draggy, and the live action fight scenes don't always work well – but towards the end, the pugilistics become quite beautiful, even when suddenly slowed down for dramatic effect. Ruvinathan deserves specific mention for his physical stunts and wonderful character acting as Hanuman himself.