There is something strangely sexy about her world-weariness and cigarette-damaged voice. She is provides occasional relief from the unrelenting fiesta. Karen Tan deserves special mention in her role as Nora’s tired mother Diana. She is in complete control of herself, whether screeching orders or noting airily that “aerobics is fun” as she kicks her foes around. Instead, Black Azira is an aggressive punk princess with a Mohawk, cocksure smirk, torn stockings, spikes, fierce black boots and a very unladylike swagger. It is true that the villains are usually fun anyway, but Wang abjures the stereotype of smoldering feminity.
Chua Enlai competently portrayed One Ball-Less and Count Far Kov but his shining moment was his parody of Amy Winehouse.Įlena Wang steals the show as the deliciously evil Black Azira. However, she is endearing enough to be forgiven most of the time. Julia Abueva’s Nora is good-natured and earnest, sometimes to the point of being grating. It largely depended on the cast’s interpretation and I am pleased to report that they did a commendable job of putting it squarely on the side of the former. This musical treads a fine line between being provocatively stimulating and OTT (over the top). The audience is barraged with a night of exuberant camp.
The naughty names of One Ball-Less, One Tit-Less, Count Far Kov (say it fast!) gratuitous homosexual rape, simulations of masturbation, humping and countless other obscene gestures turn the vibrancy of the set into a garish, demented carnival. Needless to say, the production ends happily, in line with the recurrent motif is that “if it’s not happy, it’s not the end”.įrom the moment Sleepless Town and its inhabitants are introduced to us as creations of Nora’s imagination (Nora literally scribbles them into existence from the side of the stage), we sense a lack of innocence in what should be a child’s haven. The queen of the land is the evil Black Azira (Elena Wang), whom Nora must defeat if she is to save the world. Her only means of escape is through her magical closet where she encounters a bizarre dreamscape of superheroes and other strange creatures. Her beloved father is dead, her mother is too tired and busy to pay attention to her and her stepfather is uninspiring. Twelve-year-old Nora (Julia Abueva) has a bleak life and an overactive imagination. Just how this dark story got anything less than an M18 rating remains a mystery to me. The plot of Sleepless Town is simple and beguiling, but the actual musical is far from innocent.
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