Orphans: a brief review.

2010 is drawing to a close, and there is so much in mind to blog, to vlog, to share, to record memories etc. But I'm starting off with something I promised a few weeks ago. A brief review of "Orphans", a play which premiered in Asia (Hong Kong).Attended the "Orphans" performance with Barry & Betty.I was fortunate to be able to catch this play, "Orphans", in Hong Kong when I was there in early December. I watched the closing performance of their run in the Arts Centre, and the playwright, Dennis Kelly, was invited to watch that night's performance as well. It must have been nerve-wracking for the actors to have the original writer in the audience.This play won the  award in the Edinburgh festival 2009, and so expectations were pretty high that night. The play itself was written very well - the shocking start to the story, the quick & pacy dialogue, and the slow reveal of the truth & the relationship between the characters, Helen (Candice Moore), Danny (Daren Durkin) & Liam (Paul Sheehan). There is an undercurrent of strains in the relationship between the characters, their distrust of the outside world, and a struggle between doing the right thing & protecting themselves / one another. Things we experience in reality, but amplified in the situation. The play gradually peeled back the layers, showing the dark side of human nature - and made me question what I would have done in that situation. It was generally well-paced, except for a section about one-third in, which I felt could have been pared down. Set design was simple & clean, pleasing to the eye & conducive to the story development. I did like the changes as the story went on, and the environment represented the destruction within the characters' moral stands, as well as their relationships. There were a few breaks in the flow of the play, as backstage crew came on to slightly alter the set - nothing to complain about, but I would have liked it if the characters themselves did it - after all, the changes are happening to them.I feel the actors & director, Ahmed El-Alfy, who I managed to meet at the after-party that night, did a pretty good job in putting the play together. I did have slight difficulty understanding the dialogue through Paul's accent. I particularly liked Daren's nuanced performance - the "outsider" in the close sister-brother bond between Helen & Liam, and being forced to do things against his conscience. Paul worked hard, although his performance tended to feel a little one-note at times. However, his emotional breakdown was touching and sustained, which must have required tremendous effort.After-party with Cast, Crew & audience.What I especially liked about "Orphans" was the fleshing out of the three characters and their different world-views on life, on the situation on hand, on their relationships. All three had strengths & weaknesses - qualities the audience could sympathise with, and dubious qualities which seemed justified from their points of view, but which were morally wrong in society. The play left a dark & haunting aftertaste. It was depressing, but one I enjoyed nonetheless.