The best medicine
An outrageous 17th-century French play crammed with references to outdated medical practices and expletives, translated into modern English and performed in 2008 by Singaporeans: it sounds like a premise as farcical as Molière’s chef-d’oeuvre itself. But combine the classic satirical comedy The Hypochondriac with a dynamic acting troupe (Jonathan Lim’s brilliant young & W!LD), an experienced director (Christina Sergeant) and the ideal venue (the Drama Centre’s intimate Black Box), and it works to frequently hilarious effect.
Molière understood the concept of interactivity a long time before it became a modern-day buzzword: the actors delight in talking to the audience, as if the play were not entertaining enough already. OTT characters abound in this play: Tan Shou Chen excels throughout as the deluded, enema-obsessed hypochondriac himself, Argan, capturing perfectly his soft-centred gullibility; Hang Qian Chou turns in a scene-stealing performance as his daughter’s absurd would-be suitor Punchinello; Jasmine Koh is memorable in her overblown turn as Toinette the emotional maid. It’s a measure of young & W!LD’s all-round excellence that even bit-part players remain in the memory after long afterwards: Terence Tan made a splendidly oleaginous M de Bonnefois, a roguish notary with designs on Argan’s daughter Angelique (Candice de Rozario) – he also doubles as clueless musician and an apothecary.
The breathless pace of the first act meant the momentum dropped somewhat after the 15-minute interval; the much shorter second act deals with expositions on the folly of doctors. But I can’t recall one unconvincing moment, nor was any actor a weak link in the chain. Word has clearly got around about this troupe too, for there wasn’t a single seat unclaimed. Which is hardly surprising: this is a night of sustained comic excellence enlivened by superb acting. Catch The Hypochondriac quickly, though; its run ends on 18 May.
Jonathan Evans
Tags: Drama Centre Black Box, Hypochondriac, W!LD
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