Production photos courtesy of Traditional Arts Centre (Singapore)
When the Narcissus begins to Bloom
Drama Centre Theatre, Mar 2023
Playwright: Geeles Teo
Director: Cai Bixia
Set Designer: Aaron Yap
Lighting Designer: Aaron Yap
Produced by Traditional Arts Centre (Singapore)
When the Narcissus begins to Bloom is an original Hokkien opera play telling the story of how a simple miscommunication resulted in the eternal separation of a once loving couple.
The plot of this play is very simple with only five characters, and is a very character-driven piece. Although the play has only four scenes, there are many location changes, and some are quick transitions that cannot be changed in darkness. As such, the set design was designed to be very minimalist and symbolic, using the life cycle of the narcissus as the key visual element on stage, from full bloom in spring (scene one), withering state in summer (scene two), dormant state in autumn (scene three) and awaiting to bloom again in winter (scene four).
In terms of lighting, location changes within a single scene are generally represented using different lighting ambience,