Food, Sex, Death and Points of View

If you’ve been keeping up to date with T4YP news, you may have read our production blurb on klpac.org. If you haven’t been doing that however, you’ve probably still heard a bit about our new provocatively titled production.

You’ve heard the marketing pitch and listened to the general talk about town. Now it’s time to hear about Food, Sex and Death (or FSD for short) from the actors themselves; how they got involved, what they expect and their experience thus far.

Devyani Gupta :
The Food, Sex and Death journey has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. There have been many ups and downs from characterization to blocking to costumes. For me, the hardest part has definitely been the character work. Getting a 16 year old girl to play a 69 year old woman is no piece of cake! I struggled a bit with getting into her shoes – relating to her emotions, nailing her physicality and just understanding her life. At the end of the day though, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do – it just takes a whole lot of practice.

Being the youngest actor in this play has allowed me to learn so much from everyone else. Personally, I’m not usually into plays which comprise of short skits but Food, Sex and Death has completely changed my perspective on that. It’s been a ride that I have thoroughly enjoyed!

Kamini Senthilabalan :
There probably are no words yet in the English language to describe the experience of preparing for Food, Sex and Death. What an adventure it has been getting into the minds of all the characters each of us play. As a newbie to theater on such a large scale, I’ve had such fun working with my cast members. It has definitely been a one of a kind experience, to say the least. The past one and a half month has given me more than I ever expected to gain in such a short time.

Food, Sex and Death introduces the audience to twelve different characters, each telling their own story. Hopefully, the audience will be drawn into the lives of these different characters. I hope you have as much fun watching Food, Sex and Death as I have had partaking in it.

Belinda Hon :
To be very honest, the fact that Food, Sex and Death would be opening in Singapore was what ultimately made me say yes to this production. I’m proud to say that this would be my second time performing in Singapore – I was a part of the Causeway EXchange festival last year in a show titled Mukabuku which also comprised of a series of short plays.

Singapore aside, FSD has been quite a trip for me. I’ve fallen in love (and sometimes in contempt!) with the scripts and most definitely the characters. I think that has been my greatest challenge; getting the characters to where they need to be whilst staying true to the script. The thing is, some of the skits are written so truthfully and the characters painted so wonderfully that it’s almost impossible to not want to perform them perfectly. I hope that the audience too, whether in Singapore or during our KL run, will relate as well as I have to these stories. After all, what else do food, sex and death have in common other than the ability to bring people together?

Nabil Zakaria :
Experience will surely come aplenty if you say yes to a theatre production, especially when it is under Christopher Ling, the master puppeteer of the T4YP program under klpac. The offer came in around a couple of months from the said director before the rehearsals started, and I have to admit, I had my head turned by the prospect of performing in Singapore – what more with such an interesting title for a play, Food, Sex and Death, a play about three things that we all can not live without – wow.

The challenge I faced was striking a balance between college and theater. The first three weeks of the rehearsals unfortunately overlapped with the last three weeks of the semester. Yes folks, it meant writing lines from the play in the exams as answers! Having my brain and body stretched to a maximum, I learned that balance is key in everything. However, now that college is over and done with (for the moment), the prospect of playing multiple characters and of course, the idea of performing in Singapore has motivated me quite a bit. All of this made the sacrifices worthwhile. ‘Food, Sex and Death 2.0’ anyone?

Nick Dorian :
It’s safe to say that this whole experience has been a ton of fun, but that’s not to say it hasn’t had its fair share of tough times, stress and worries. Well, that’s not such a bad thing now is it? It’s helped me grow as an actor by teaching me things I never knew before.

The role that I am playing is unlike any I have portrayed before and it has been a challenge but I do love a challenge. Coming from a having done a couple of Shakespeare oriented plays the last few years, it feels fantastic to be doing a straight sketches again and I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of actors to be with. They really are extraordinary and with the loving guidance of our director Chris Ling, this show is definitely going to take you for the ride of your life. Food, Sex and Death - what more could you ask for in one sitting?

Food, Sex and Death in Singapore performs in Singapore as follows:
The Hall at The Arts House
1 Old Parliament Lane
Singapore 179429
28th Thurs – 30th Sat July @ 8pm
$25 (adult) / $15 (Students, Seniors and NSF)

Food, Sex and Death as part of Causeway EXchange in Kuala Lumpur:
Pentas 2 @ The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre
Sentul Park, Jalan Strachan
51100, Kuala Lumpur
4th Thurs – 6th Sat @ 8:30pm. 6th Sat – 7th Sun August @ 3pm
RM23 (adult) / RM13 (Students, Seniors, Disabled and TAS Card Members)

Photo Credit: Alex Chua