February 1, 2001

The cast of Butterflies Are Free gave an impressive performance in the preview last night. The play debuts tonight.

By Yap Geok Hui

(Click on pictures for larger image)

They say veterans are better than novices.

This is especially true of Xiang Yun's performance yesterday at the Broadway play presented by Mediacorp Studios and produced by Spring-Time Stage - Butterflies Are Free.

When she made her appearance, the pace of the production visibly quickened.

What with the shock of seeing a near-naked woman in her son's apartment and the riling nonchalance and chirpiness of Perry Chiu who acted as Jill, the neighbour-turned-lover of Don (Tay Ping Hui), Xiang Yun delighted the audience with her acid-sharp tongue and wit.

What was more commendable was the ease with which she controlled her emotions. One moment, she was the authoritative mother figure whom Jill squirmed at on sight. The next, she fussed over her son like a protective mother hen.

In yet another, she was a sharp and well-educated lady, and suddenly the audience saw a heartbroken mother.

At the peak of her emotions, the audience shared her pain, which was written all over her face with the hint of tears in the corner of her eyes.

Encore, Encore

The other artistes - Perry, Ping Hui and Andi put up a great show, too.

With her petite frame and her cute smile, Perry was convincing as the wild 19-year-old with a devil-may-care attitude, to whom Don warmed up immediately.

In the scene when she had to say goodbye to him, her pain and dilemma were plain to see.

We marvelled at the actress' acting capabilities as she had reprised the role she played in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It was no easy feat to maintain the same level of emotional involvement after repeating the role countless times.

Ping Hui gave the role his all; in order to make his falling scene more convincing, he really made himself fall and the scene was repeated so many times during rehearsals that the part of his leg below the kneecap was all black and blue.

He was so absorbed in the role that he found it hard to immediately withdraw from it the moment the play ended. We thought we saw the residue of tears shed in his eyes.

Andi Lim (who played a director that Perry auditioned for) confessed to suffering from stage fright, but once he got past his first line, nothing could stop him. We discovered that he has the makings of a comedian.

That Nude Scene

As for the infamous nude scene in the play, it was well within the acceptable limits of Singaporeans and definitely done in an artistic way.

Looking at the slim, bra-less back of Perry, who was sitting by the edge of an elevated bed, facing Ping Hui, who was lying down on it, I could only hold my breath -- not because of the erotic atmosphere, but because I was so afraid she might fall out of the narrow and cramped single bed if she lost her balance.

A still excited Xiang Yun said after the show that she could hardly sleep the night before, as the preview was actually their second attempt at a full-dress rehearsal.

During past sessions, the artistes could never come together as some had filming to do.

Therefore, most of the time out of the 2 weeks of heavy rehearsals, they had to be content with practising their own parts alongside a stand-in.

From what we know, past rehearsals were not held at World Trade Centre Auditorium, so the artistes had to familiarise themselves with the stage in the shortest possible time before the show started.

And they did it. The preview went smoothly, without much of a hiccup. An amazing feat, if you ask me.

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You can catch Butterflies Are Free at the World Trade Centre Auditorium from February 1-9 at 8 pm. There's also a matinee on February 3 at 3 pm. Tickets available at $66, $46 and $26 from Sistic.

Join the discussions in our message board

What do you think of the casting of Tay Ping Hui, Perry Chiu, Xiang Yun and Andi Lim in the play, Butterflies Are Free?

Nudity in Butterflies Are Free. How far should they go?

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