Love is in the Heir

Shahirah Mohamed Ansari|shahirah_@nus.edu.sg
the ridge transmedia
A NUSSU Publication

Eusoff Hall Dance Production 2008
University Cultural Centre
Thu, 31 Jan 08, 7pm

Picture Credit: Eusoffworks

An evil wizard. A cursed king. A bastard gardener. No, this is not a new, warped animated movie churned out by Disney, but Love is in the Heir; the satirical tragicomedy staged by Eusoff Hall at the University Cultural Centre on Thursday night.

The premise was simple enough – in exchange for peace in his kingdom, King Aurelius (Sim Jit Vern) agrees to marry his three daughters off to the three sons of the evil wizard Lailoken (excellently acted by Andrew Putra). Twenty years on, Lailoken returns to the peaceful kingdom to claim his end of the deal. In true ‘evil wizard’ fashion, his three ‘sons’ are not actually his biological sons but actors he hired!

Picture Credit: Eusoffworks

The interaction between the three ‘sons’ and the three princesses provided a mixture of slapstick and witty comic relief: wise and ladylike Princess Amelia (Shanta Arul) was paired with crude, bawdy Lucas (Manbeer Singh); ditzy, materialistic Princess Amber (Sopphia Loo) was paired up with unhygienic ah beng Larry (Derek Ong); and uptight Princess Annabelle (Valerie Vincent) was paired with Leon (Shariza Shari), an actress posing as a boy. When King Aurelius dies, Lailoken ascends the throne, and the princesses are stuck in their matches.

Picture Credit: Eusoffworks

The twist in the plot came, rather predictably, in the form of Adrian, the palace gardener who is in love with Annabelle. Unbeknownst to everyone except his mother, Esmeralda, Adrian is Lailoken’s son, born after Lailoken took Esmeralda against her will. By publicly declaring his love for Annabelle, Adrian faces his greatest fear, and inherits Lailoken’s powers, thereby saving the day.

While all the actors performed their roles to a tee, I found Shariza Shari, Andrew Putra and Tan Kim Ong to be particularly notable. Shariza successfully captured the awkwardness of a girl disguised as a boy, while Andrew was truly menacing as Lailoken. Tan impressed me with his deep baritone, lending his voice to the character of Adrian.

Being ultimately a dance performance, each major scene was punctuated by dance. While various genres of dance such as hip-hop and pop were explored, it was apparent that the strength of the dancers lay in the contemporary dance genre. The level of synchronization and emotion were slightly lacking in the other dances.

Picture Credit: Eusoffworks

Yet another aspect of Love is in the Heir Eusoff Hall should be proud of is the set design. It had a level of sophistication rarely expected of college productions. The crew built a sturdy set which allowed the cast to take advantage of vertical space. The colours used also added vibrancy to the performance. The use of props and sets in the garden scenes and jail scene was creative, and the effort that went into making them apparent.

Many Eusoffians pulled double- (some even triple-) duty for the production of Love is in the Heir. Among them, Shariza Sharif juggled co-directing the production and was also its secretary, Manbeer Singh co-wrote the script, and Valerie Vincent and Tan Kim Ong wrote the songs, all on top of playing meaty roles in the production.

Picture Credit: Eusoffworks

Love is in the Heir was a successful celebration of Eusoff Hall’s 50th anniversary, as it saw its residents coming together to showcase their diverse talents with pride.