Double crossing moles and a convoluted revenge plots weigh down this cross-country collaborative effort.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, international theatre collaborations are few and far between. But with things finally more or less back to normal, opportunities have risen once again for old friendships to be reignited, and projects once shelved to be put back on the production line once more.

In the works since 2018, Nine Years Theatre (NYT) and Hsing Legend Youth Theatre (the youth wing of Taiwan’s Contemporary Legend Theatre)’s joint project Immortal Variables sees NYT artistic director Nelson Chia lead a cast of Singaporean actors and young Taiwanese Chinese Opera-trained performers in an original play. Directed and written by Nelson, Immortal Variables takes inspiration from the legendary eight immortals in Chinese mythology, symbolising prosperity and good fortune, and reimagines them as an anti-government resistance group in a technologically-advanced near future republic city.

The play itself surrounds an anti-government insurgence plot when the eight immortals kidnap the President (Howie Chu Po-Cheng), who has devised a plan to turn the city into a totalitarian state through subtle mind control via social media channels. Holding him captive, the immortals demand him to release an ‘ultimate password’ that will allow them to disable the programme, or face destruction of the entire system when they hack into it, plunging the city into chaos. But having taken the President’s intelligence and willingness for granted, what ensues is a cat-and-mouse game where the two sides resort to codes, lies and moles to ensure victory.

The overarching concept behind Immortal Variables is novel and an interesting step towards the sci-fi direction for NYT, exemplified in the set by Wong Chee Wai and lighting by Adrian Tan. The stage has been overlaid with clear panels in a grid-like formation, with patterns that resemble a circuit board. During scene changes, these flash various colours to represent the world’s technological themes, while clear plastic chairs and tables are used to similarly give the play a futuristic sheen. Vick Low’s electronic-inclined sound design makes us imagine sparks of information on the internet superhighway, as the tension ramps up.

Designing the costumes are Taiwanese students Ke Wang Jia-Le and Huang Chih-Hao from the Department of Fashion Design at Shu-Te University, who have crafted costumes that take inspiration from more traditional Chinese silhouettes. Actors primarily don multiple pieces, each character given their own distinct outfit that matching their personality, from the more militaristic coat donned by Ryan Ang, to the grander, blue coat donned by Mia Chee, reflecting her status. Even if they are given few lines, one can easily imagine their backstories and position from the moment one lays eyes on them.

Immortal Variables is hugely ambitious, with plenty of ideas that writer Nelson Chia wants to include in it, from warning about the dangers of absolute power, corruption via trauma and revenge, to the importance of the humanities amidst a STEM-focused world. However, much of that gets lost in the banality of the simple plot, as the tension over whether the President will reveal the passcode becomes difficult to maintain once one realises there are almost no stakes and how incompetent the eight immortals are to begin with.

Much of the show’s success is reliant on turning the audience towards the side of the kidnappers, despite knowing that their methods are morally wrong. But Immortal Variables does not give us enough time or development to endear us to this motley crew, never establishing their backstories or relationships proper for us to care about the success of their mission. In fact, we already see the plan breaking down from the moment the group reveals their faces to the President, with disagreements and team members who let slip information far too easily, to trust in the viability of this supposed group of tech prodigies.

Moreover, Immortal Variables also constantly reveals characters having ulterior motives and secret alliances, changing up their identities and affiliations so often that it loses its impact and any kind of stakes it might have had. Characters yell at each other and suddenly have romantic histories, and it’s not long before our capacity for suspension of disbelief also reaches its limits. This is a play that is surprisingly lacking in emotion, and ended up putting too much emphasis on trying to shock audiences and lean into its mystery, rather than capitalising on Nelson’s usual strengths of bringing out the humanity of each character.

In a collaboration, it is always interesting to see how the involved companies grow as a result, and even if the story ends up tripping over its own plot twists, what one can take away from this production is NYT’s ability to bring together a group and develop such a strong working relationship onstage in such a short time through their training. While it’s clear that some people were given far meatier roles while others felt more like an afterthought, there is still an attempt to pla. to the cast’s strengths, from incorporating Chinese opera, to genuinely impressive stunts during action sequences, with the entire cast is able to emote and deliver their lines with gusto.

Immortal Variables may not have lived up to his ambitious premise, but for what it’s worth, it represents a step towards the revival of cross-country artistic collaborations. One hopes that the cast benefitted from the conversation and training received during the half-decade long project delayed by the pandemic, and that it opens a new chapter marking the start of many more regional inter-company dialogues, theatrical experiments and better productions to come.

Photo Credit: Joseph Nair

Immortal Variables (八仙变数) played from 6th to 8th October 2023 at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre @ Wild Rice, Funan.

Production Credits:

Director/Playwright: Nelson Chia

Cast: Mia Chee, Ryan Ang,Ching Shu Yi, Howie Chu, Yang Jui-Yu, Eason Lin, Huang Jo-Lin, and Ivy Chen

Set Design: Wong Chee Wai

Lighting Design: Adrian Tan

Music Composition: Vick Low

Costume Design: Ke Wang Jia-Le and Huang Chih-Hao