Review of ‘Scenes From A Repatriation’: “The early, early morning of the dragon”

The Royal Court hosts the world premiere of Joel Tan’s latest play, exploring the subject of historical reparation through a critical point of view. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show, to let us know if its thought-provoking narrative, set around an ancient Chinese monument, left him in a state of Confucius.

History is divisive – especially the one in your browser. In all seriousness, though, there’s virtually not a single episode in mankind yet to be marked by the scrutinous spirit of today. A hero is only a hero to those who feed from their victory. But to those who sink in their ascend, their memory is painted with a different set of colours.

An open historical wound serves as the core theme for Joel Tan’s newest play, Scenes From A Repatriation, exploring the cultural tensions surrounding a Chinese relic exhibited at the British Museum. For some, the piece is just where it needs to be. For others, its foreign residency is an insult to its people and rightful owners – preventing the burden from going anywhere by perpetuating their humiliation.

It’s a striking premise not exempt from its own controversy – at least, from a creative point of view. Some would argue that art should never preach, while others would defend that the sole purpose of the theatre is to make audiences think. I’m not a massive fan of shows that tell me what to do or how to feel. In fact, I find them more irritating than slow-walking couples blocking your way on the street – may you all have a merry, epic, even titanic honeymoon.

Joel Tan avoids the issue by going one step further. With a misleading first half, giving us a false impression of where its convictions stand, the play reveals itself not to take any sides in the end. And so, what initially seemed like an act of advocacy turns out to be a clever comment on the corrupted nature of humanity and their convictions.

The script sketches a striking narrative. However, the structure doesn’t flaunt the same engaging quality. While some moments are impeccably written, flaunting depth, suspense and well-established pacing, some others struggle to serve as anything but a filler – contributing very little to the general story arc, and not really able to keep the interest all throughout.

As a result, the plot loses part of its substance, taking us through too many unnecessary scenes that, instead of providing much of a build-up, tend to obstruct the rhythm with a repetitive display of ideas. Act Two doesn’t suffer from the same issues, but makes a similar mistake by moving in the opposite direction – rushing the recount without exploiting neither its elements or possibilities to a full extent, while lacking a strong enough conclusion to finish with.

Directed by emma + pj, the production is, anyhow, visually enticing. Performed in the round, a sand-covered stage confronts two sets of viewers. To one side, a white-framed shrine holds a wrapped version of the statue. To the other, a hovering scrim transitions from a harmless surtitles projection to a menacing interrogation stand. TK Hay’s design is beautifully complemented by Alex Fernandes’s highly atmospheric lighting – accentuating the tone and symbolism of every scene, while effectively leading us from one setting to another.

Though the cast oozes good chemistry on the whole, not every portrayal boasts the same degree of deftness and naturalness. However, some of the renditions are extremely enjoyable, with the biggest praise going to Aidan Cheng for his remarkable versatility, as well as the emotional and comedic power of his interpretation. In addition, Fiona Hampton also makes a memorable appearance, with an akin skill for range in her delivery, interconnected through her camp humorous approach.

Built on a solid principle but failing to balance its storytelling’s yin-yang,  Scenes From A Repatriation manages to get its audience invested through a thought-provoking narrative, but deports a great deal of its potential by migrating through subplots of questionable relevance and slightly weak development. As a concept, it’s zhi-mply perfect. But in terms of execution, they might need a few revisions before discovering how to dao it.

All pictures credit to Marc Brenner.

Scenes From A Repatriation plays at London’s Royal Court Theatre until 24 May. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara