A Review of Loh Kok Man’s The Bee
I have never been more disappointed by empty theatre seats in my life as I was at the Saturday night showing of Loh Kok Man’s The Bee. It is a show which deserves a full house every night, not just filling up half the venue. The show is absurdly funny, disturbingly absurd, and does so much with so little.
The Bee was written by Japanese theatre director Hideki Noda and Irish playwright Colin Teevan, based on the short story Mushirai (Plucking at Each Other) by Yasutaka Tsutsui. Those familiar with Japanese film may recognise Tsutsui, as his novels have been adapted into cult-classic anime films, such as Paprika and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.
It would be no surprise that The Bee is equally as absurd as some of Tsutsui’s other works. A salaryman comes home to find his street closed off with police tape, and he himself is hounded by intrusive journalists. He then learns a murderer has taken his wife and son hostage, and the indolent police are slow to help. Taking matters into his own hands, he takes the murderer’s wife and son hostage, and soon he and the murderer spiral into a cycle of violence and evil that starts off as funny but ends in a haunting mutual self-destruction.
A play injected with Japanese cynicism and absurdism, it was first performed in London in 2006. Noda himself played the murderer’s wife, while Kathryn Hunter played the disgruntled salaryman, a gender-bending twist that was absent from this production.
Our salaryman is played by Fai Chen, giving a performance so disturbing that I felt sick in my stomach.
Thian Siew Kim, who played the murderer’s wife, was the perfect blend of funny and pitiable.
Yeo Lyle played both the murderer and the murderer’s son, seamlessly switching between characters in a way that left me speechless.
SJay rounded out the cast, playing more roles than I can count but most notably the inept Sarjan Papasan.
Initially written in English, The Bee has been translated into different languages, including Japanese and Chinese. The English play has previously been performed in Kuala Lumpur, notably in 2018 by Theatresauce. This, however, is the first Chinese production of The Bee to come to Malaysia. The production is a collaboration between Loh Kok Man’s Pentas and W Productions.
It utilises Taiwanese playwright Cheng-Han Wu’s Chinese Mandarin translation of the script, whilst injecting some Malaysian locality through changing the names and locations of certain characters and settings.
English surtitles are also provided, for which this reviewer was very grateful.
It begins very unassumingly, blaring a Blackpink remix with some impressive projector visuals by Fairuz Sulaiman. The cast play a variety of roles, with only Fai Chen’s salaryman being the sole one-role actor. It did an adequate job establishing character and motivation within this first act, but it truly became its own when the second act began, signalled by a stage transformation so unexpected it earned gasps and cheers from the audience.
Then begins the true core of The Bee’s story, one of a man falling into evil and embracing it. I couldn’t help but bring up similarities to the 1993 film, Falling Down, in which an ordinary man, played by Michael Douglas, becomes frustrated by society and lashes out in violent and psychotic outbursts. Of course, this film is a lot more personal, and as such could have easily been much darker. Tension, however, is alleviated through absurdist humor that is reflected through performance styles, dialogue, and even setting (I never knew I could be so excited about a character turning on a TV, a testament to Kok Man’s attention to detail). All of which are elevated through brilliant, atmospheric lighting by Loh Kok Man, and the arresting music of Kent Lee.
But the humour can’t last forever, and we stopped laughing at the things we once laughed at. Eventually, we were left with silence as all the ‘funny things’ kept happening, over and over and over again. It was funny in a morbid sort of way to watch someone exchange fingers of their hostages the first time. It wasn’t as funny when they exchanged their twentieth one.
The result is a powerful story that explores the darkness of humanity, and how one’s frustration with society can lead to a maddening, violent outburst. But it is honestly the salaryman’s relationship with the murderer, both of whom are keeping the other’s family hostage, that I want to highlight.
Their exchange of violence grew morbid with every heinous act they committed to get back at the other. It is an excellent portrayal of how when evil is responded with evil, it only leads to greater evil.
The Bee premiered on 21 November 2024, with their last show being on 1 December. Please, please, please, if you can, make sure there’s not a single show with an empty seat.
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This review was generated as part of the Artsee Networks Young Arts Writers’ Sandbox Programme.
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