Ensemble work about unfulfilled desires and the inevitability of death messy amidst truth.

In the final collaborative effort between Nine Years Theatre (NYT) and NAFA School of Theatre, director Timothy Wan and the Year 3 graduating students of NAFA’s Diploma in Theatre (English Drama) present Adam Bernard’s unusual play Buckets. Referencing the idea of a bucket list and the endless unfulfilled tasks one is left to do before dying, the work comprises 33 interconnected stories and scenes, with a medley of characters that offers a range of performance possibilities and styles for a large cast to interpret, making it ideal for a student graduating production.

With a young cast such as these graduating students, the subject matter of the play feels especially poignant, given that most of them still have such long lives ahead of them, and begging the question of how best to make meaning out of it all. The stories they present are manifold – a mother grieves to her doctor about the impending death of her child, a teacher forms a close bond with a particularly bold student. Elsewhere, a dying child receives a visit from a pop star in hospital, while there are also more surreal moments where lives are claimed by a mysterious higher entity, where they are told with a smile, ominously and in no uncertain terms, that their time left is limited.

Adopting a minimalist set, the students are given the full breadth of their imaginations to figure out how best to enact each scene, but director Timothy Wan instead adopts for a mostly realist way of presenting them. In the hands of these young actors, the lines never quite reach their intended effect, often feeling rushed or bereft of weight. Even so, the play itself feels long, perhaps from the whiplash of constantly switching characters and never spending enough time to fully feel their presence that makes every scene ultimately seem inconsequential.

Amidst the many scenes, the play does have its moments – an innovative bit of ensemble work sees a group of them almost transforming into a moving train, with the lights and sounds resembling hurtling through a tunnel, while there are glimpses of genuine loss or euphoria we see from time to time, amidst the otherwise weighty play. Even down to the costuming – while there is some coherence in the women all wearing some kind of overalls, and the males wearing some kind of jacket, there isn’t enough to bind them together as a single unit, and often feels like children playing.

The cast certainly do their best to make sense of it all, and you want to be moved, occasionally seeing the cast almost but not quite break past the sense of ‘performance’ and putting real emotion onstage. But the script itself, in all its winding and attempts to be Caryl Churchill, leaves us wanting of something a little more cohesive and lasting, and at most we’re simply watching something fleeting, these moments in life that are full of desire and desperation, but hollow when they reach their conclusion.

Photo Credit: Nine Years Theatre

Buckets played from 23rd to 26th November 2023 at the NAFA Studio Theatre.

Production Credits:

Writer: Adam Bernard Director: Timothy Wan Cast: Donovan Tock Qiu Hang, Farah Adriana Binte Ahmad Fakhry, Kaiko Natan Sasmita, Koh Rui Ling Christinem Leong Wei Ling, Leoni Safitri Leong, Samson Solomon Sim Yong En, Seah Min Shermaine, Set Jun Yeow Jordon, Sicat Mikaela Gabriella Pagdanganan Tan Li Ching, Thasha Monique Dharmendra, Woo Madeline Costume Designer: Tan Jia Hui Lighting Designer: Genevieve Peck Sound Designer: Chung Ee Yong, Rebecca Tan Sound Design Mentors: Dayn Ng, Ng Sze Min Sound Design Coordinator: Pearlyn Tay Set/Props Coordinator: Goh Abigail Stage Manager: Ng Siaw Hui Production Manager: Tennie Su