Hell lies somewhere between a bar and a breakout room.

Considering that we live in a world ravaged by war, beset by pandemics, and face unprecedented climate change that brings with it the assurance of disaster, it’s not entirely surprising that something eventually breaks inside us from how overwhelming it can all be. But when faced with such existential anxiety – do we end up screaming to the void, hoping someone hears our pleas for help, or do we find solace in escapism, leaving it all behind by doomscrolling on an infinite feed?

In tackling and responding to such angst head on, playwright A Yagnya presents her philosophical play Hi, Can You Hear Me?, which sees a myriad of characters come together and ponder over the trajectory of their lives in the wake of disaster and existential crises. Presented by The Necessary Stage and co-directed with Alvin Tan, Hi, Can You Hear Me? is a decidedly downbeat play, with characters who are no longer able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, caught in the throes of deepest despair. Its central setpiece is a bar after all, a place where people go to drown their sorrows in alcohol. Designed by M. Nurfadhli Jasni, it looks almost like an impossible Escher stair on its side, clear evidence of the absurd world occupied by these characters. Its plain wooden surface both acts as a makeshift screen for projections, while also hinting at the fragility of the world, the backdrop behind it showing signs of wear and tear, as if threatening to collapse or convey the state of decay our world is in.

Running this bar is Utama (Sharda Harrison), the last tiger of Singapore who is doomed to mix drinks for the lost souls that wander through its doors, acting as a limbo of a sorts for kindred spirits to meet and heal, or wallow in their pain together. Amongst them are Guan Yin (Zelda Tatiana Ng), who doubles as a lounge singer for the bar, and is caught in an endless reincarnation loop, constantly dying prematurely as she bears witness to human tragedy across the ages. They are joined by Shimizu (Doppo Narita), a Japanese man grieving the loss of his wife, who bears a striking resemblance to Guan Yin, while dealing with the presence of his AI caretaker assisting him as his memory begins to fade.

Meanwhile, Sindhu (Sukania Venugopal) is a high flying executive who finds herself immeasurably alone, choosing to try her best to return to ‘normalcy’ after memories of a traumatic earthquake resurface. She catches the eye of John (Rodney Oliveiro), a broadcast journalist who rounds off the ensemble cast, and attempts to find control again after finding himself stuck in a hotel room, and dealing with the birth of a new child – and starting a whirlwind, illicit affair with Sindhu with its own strict rules, as they find solace in each other’s damage.

The world of Hi, Can You Hear Me? is a vast and varied one, tackling both the present day and the near future, all haunted by historical events and disasters. Playwright Yagnya has embarked on a deep dive into both Japanese and Singapore history, and it is frankly impressive how much research she’s done and managed to include in the play, down to details such as the Maria Kannon statues used by persecuted Christians in Japan, or the story of how the last tiger was killed at the Raffles Hotel. But while the wealth of material reflects the sheer amount of information we’re bombarded with in the age of the Internet, putting it all in a play can weigh it down narratively. With so many characters, each with their own threads and stories, there are times you truly feel each of them lost and wandering, burdened by their past and all the horrors and tragedy they’ve witnessed.

Beyond the information overload, Hi, Can You Hear Me? is also a play that takes its time to meander and explore the implications and impact of all these events and circumstances that place undue stress on the human mind. As far as such philosophical plays go, Hi, Can You Hear Me? is immensely ambitious in doing this, where everything from the atomic bomb, to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, to the recent pandemic, become triggers for these characters to be thrust into hopelessness. None of them face these destructive forces head on, but rather, people around them or their circumstances, and much of the play is spent exploring these hang-ups and the way it affects them, often leading to them having wrestle with the fallout of their decisions, tending towards frustration in stasis, unable to move on.

As a playwright, Yagnya’s ideas are vast and reveal a rich imagination that conveys the incomprehensible, all-consuming grief she feels for these ordinary people beset by disaster, as seen through the sensitive portrayal of these characters. The conversations and dialogue between characters can sometimes feel contrived or constructed, as if taken from an arthouse film, a soap, or pulled from an academic text, but there is always an underlying empathy that buoys the performances to allow us to see the sincerity beneath. Of these characters, it is Sindhu and John who have the most potential in their story, primarily due to the performance from seasoned actress Sukania Venugopal, who aches with longing and a despondence in her being that makes her feel immensely powerless. And as much as you know it’s an affair, you come to understand their arrangement with each other, from their professional distance that they maintain, and how they use each other as a form of therapy amidst the loneliness.

That in itself captures the theme of Hi, Can You Hear Me? – basic human connection in a world that is inconsistent and fleeting, which is also reflected in the other narrative threads. Shimizu’s grief and detachment from his family leaves him a broken man, with his practical AI caretaker unable to provide the companionship he so desperately needs, which Doppo Narita expresses with pain in his voice, and lashes out in anger. Guan Yin may be a goddess, but she is impotent and powerless, only looking on with sadness as she witnesses and watches the harm that befalls humankind across all her lifetimes. And Utama represents the violence of humanity, incapable of seeing animals as anything other than beasts, represented through a stylised choreographed fight scene that sees Sharda Harrison showcasing her physicality, leaping from the bar, half tango-ing, half-wanting to rip Rodney Oliveiro’s throat out.

In recent productions, The Necessary Stage has found collaborators who’re increasingly willing to push their designs to better support the work, and Hi, Can You Hear Me? continues that trend. Brian Gothong Tan’s projections are delightfully trippy, transitioning between infinite replications of Guan Yin to represent her divinity, to world-ending atomic bombs to hammer home the theme of destruction (further supported by Yo Shao An’s strobe lighting). Sound designer Jevon Chandra does especially well in this production, not only with a soft, ambient soundtrack that gives us time to pause and ponder, but also providing live accompaniment to popular songs sung by Zelda Tatiana Ng, including a devastating cover of Adele’s ‘Easy On Me’, while Sindhu and John consider the future of their relationship.

Hi, Can You Hear Me? is reminiscent of some of the company’s most experimental productions, particularly their cross-country works, where the most unconventional ideas are tossed around and allowed to be given form. While there remains a lack of focus as to what exactly it wants to say, this is a show that ends up becoming an exercise in wandering and wondering, seemingly disparate elements that are strung together by tragedy and pain, and remind us of how much distance there is between us even in the ‘new normal’, where we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of our past over and over.

While all these narrative threads ultimately remain separate, perhaps what we are left with at the end of the play is a vague sense of hope. Shimizu is the one that ends the work, trying one last attempt to reach out to his children via video, in a tearful outburst at his most raw. Death is inevitable, as is violence and tragedy in the sick sad world we live in. But we must hold on to that which we still can, no matter how ephemeral, and learn to treasure the very limited time we have in the company of others, lest we regret it when it all goes away. Sometimes when someone seems to be drinking alone at the bar or looking lost in a crowded place, it might just help the healing process by saying ‘yes, I hear you’.

Photo Credit: Tuckys Photography

Hi, Can You Hear Me? plays from 21st to 31st March 2024 at the Esplanade Theatre Studio. Tickets available from BookMyShow

Production Credits:

Co-Directors A Yagnya, Alvin Tan Writer A Yagnya Performers Doppo Narita, Rodney Oliveiro, Sharda Harrison, Sukania Venugopal, Zelda Tatiana Ng Dramaturg Sindhura Kalidas Set Designer M. Nurfadhli Jasni Multimedia Artist Brian Gothong Tan Lighting Designer Yo Shao Ann Sound Designer Jevon Chandra Hair Stylist Ashley Lim Make-Up Artist The Make Up Room Production Manager Pearl Wee Stage Manager Victoria Anna Wong Assistant Stage Manager Hanna Daud Costume Coordinator/Wardrobe Mistress Tan Jia Hui Captioner Yap She Fong Multimedia Operator Esther Tan Project Manager Nicole Lim