This show's a real winner: playwright Adrian Koh's script is funny, moving and steeped in intrigue, telling the story of three Nonyas in the 60s battling against faithless husbands, family expectations and tradition. There's an array of Peranakan culture on show: arranged marriages, clashing horoscopes and strings of insults in Baba Malay, with the bonus of a terribly dramatic death scene and the sight of Julian Hee's marvelous abdominal muscles.
The piece isn't perfect, though: there isn't much action on stage in most of the scenes, the resolution is slightly unsatisfying, and the themes really aren't that revolutionary or taboo-smashing. Among the cast members, only Neo Swee Lin stands out with her garrulous warmth, and the singing of the pantun was generally – ahem - bad. I'm also grateful to dramaturg Haresh Sharma for shaving the play down to 90 minutes – the original length of three hours would've been just too long.