Karthik Kadam as Devan Pillay and Agnes Tong as Arabella Flynn in The Tao of the World.David Hou/Supplied
- Title: The Tao of the World
- Written and directed by: Jovanni Sy
- Actors: Agnes Tong, Heidi Sy Damayo, Manami Hara, Angus Yam, Karthik Kadam, Derek Kwan, Michael Man, Tim Campbell, Sara-Jeanne Hosie
- Company: Stratford Festival
- Venue: Tom Patterson Theatre
- City: Stratford, Ont.
- Year: Runs until Sept. 26
“Who knew being noble could suck so much?”
That astute observation lands halfway through The Tao of the World, Jovanni Sy’s amusing romp through the foibles of Singapore’s ultrarich. We’re at the centre of a story that looks like a Rube Goldberg machine, with plots spinning out in every direction: Heiress-influencer Arabella (Agnes Tong) is hellbent on winning back her ex, famous actor Edward (Angus Yam). Small problem, though – Edward, deep in the throes of pondering the costs of nobility, wants Arabella’s sheltered cousin Millicent (Heidi Sy Damayo).
But Arabella is used to getting what she wants. She calls in some favours from her mother, the unfeeling Lady Helena (Manami Hara), and her best friend Devan (Karthik Kadam), deep in the throes of grief for his own mother. Lady Helena and Arabella know what he’s going through – Lakshmi was their most beloved servant, so of course they miss her, too, they say as they console their orphaned friend.
The Tao of the World, loosely inspired by William Congreve’s Restoration comedy The Way of the World, is not simple. Its plots and politics bounce around like pinballs, lightning-quick, as Arabella wreaks havoc on her loved ones’ lives. Fleeting references to Singapore’s strict penal code carry significant narrative weight in the play’s final moments; small costume pieces convey character notes that words never could.
In this vein, Sy, who also directs, attempts to paint a pointillistic world, in which thousands of tiny details coalesce into a portrait of Singaporean richesse. Often, he’s successful: A second-act interlude that shines a light on Singapore’s working class is clear-eyed and timely, a damning condemnation of the country’s upper crust. A silly subplot involving Lady Helena’s sycophantic best friend Eleanor (Sara-Jeanne Hosie) and Arabella’s husband (Tim Campbell) also keeps the play buoyant and light – even when Sy turns his focus to Singapore’s intolerance of homosexuality, and the class schisms that allow the ultrarich to treat the world as their toybox.
But more often, The Tao of the World waffles between overstating its thesis – exorbitant wealth bad, righteousness good – and vaulting the plot ever-forward. Some production elements, as well, chafe with the play’s luxurious environs: Sophie Tang’s colourful lighting design often leaves actors half-lit, and stiff, wiggy wigs distract from Ming Wong’s otherwise excellent costumes.
That said, an ensemble’s worth of bright, layered performances help keep The Tao of the World chugging along. As Arabella, Tong captures the simultaneous whine and bite of a privileged but emotionally starved socialite. In moments of direct address to the audience, she’s sardonic and aloof, but as the play develops, so does she, adding depth and texture as demanded by the script.
Members of the company, The Tao of the World.David Hou/Supplied
Kadam, too, locks into the script’s prickly explorations of racial and class disparities in Singapore, telling Devan’s story as much with his eyes as with Sy’s dialogue. His journey is grounded and bittersweet, and a lovely foil to Tong’s as Arabella.
Michael Man makes the most of underwritten Wilson, a pompous – and closeted – doctor visiting from Canada. (Sy makes a number of low-hanging jokes about the country, as well as the pronunciation of Regina.) Sy Damayo, too, does what she can with sweet Millicent.
But it’s perhaps Nestor Lozano Jr. who stands out most in Sy’s sparky production. As Toto, he delivers the play’s message in a way that’s surprising, funny and sharp, and that adds – pardon the pun – richness to the production. He carries the ache of the working class with simultaneous tenderness and edge; it’s a masterful performance of a relatively small role.
In 2018, Crazy Rich Asians captured the zeitgeist with its technicolour examination of Singapore’s wealthiest elites. That movie’s influence is palpable in The Tao of the World; so too are the English comedy beats of sexual wit and high-society satire.
So, yes, on the whole, Sy’s play lives up to its marketing as “a mash-up” of Restoration humour and the modern Asian rom-com. But especially keeping in mind Sy’s last Stratford Festival epic – the gorgeous, bruising Salesman in China – something feels missing in The Tao of the World, appealing on its surface but oddly bland underneath.
Who knew being noble could suck so much? It’s a worthwhile question. But it’s one I wish Sy’s latest dramedy answered with just a touch more nuance.