Meenah & Cheenah
Dream Academy – Meenah and Cheenah – 14 May 2016, 4Pm (Matinee)
It’s surprising how this hasn’t happened till now, but Dream Academy has finally United two of singapore’a best funnywomen onstage for their very own show. Siti Khalijah and Judee Tan are completely in their element here, playing a spectrum of local character archetypes with aplomb, moving the audience to a rousing laughter.
Clocking in at 90minutes, the show moves at a brisk pace with an onslaught of sketches and jokes poking fun at racial stereotypes, specifically the ‘minah’ and ‘ah Lian’ types, played Siti and judee respectively. With minimal props and set design, the onus was on the two comediennes to make the show work. M&C starts off strong, with the two actresses explaining how there is a minah and cheenah inside everyone, elaborating on some of their defining characteristics and ending off with a parody of ‘One People, One Nation, One Singapore’. The sketches that follow vary in length and characters, from giggly schoolgirl best friends, to lecturers delivering lessons on the evolution of the archetype, to a cross dressing segment where the two play army bunk mates discussing Chinese and Malay methods of getting girls.
The funniest sketch by far would have to be the final segment where Siti and Judee play social media influencers, parodying real life personalities like Xiaxue and the social media world. Also of note would be the segments where each actress ends up in a club, and show off their many talents dancing to stereotypically minah/cheena songs, to great applause.
Time really flew by in the theatre, and before we knew it, the show was over. Kudos to Siti and Judee for another job well done, and cementing their positions as some of the absolute best and funniest women in the local theatre scene.
