弦外之影 Hidden Tunes review

Presented by Small Ripples Theatre, 弦外之影 Hidden Tunes is a Mandarin language pop musical focusing on the #MeToo movement at a prestigious music university. Exploring the themes of sexual assault and violence against women within a musical setting comes with its own challenges and sensitivities, and for the most part, this production does an admirable job at presenting entertainment through pain.

A group of students are ready to take on the new year at university under the tutelage of the revered and influential Professor Yang. When Xiao Qian (Lansy Feng) is assaulted by the Professor, rumours spread like wildfire across the campus, with even her friends uncertain as to who or what to believe. The story is predominantly told through the eyes of A Jia (Yujia Du) a new student and friend to Xiao Qian who strongly suspects something terrible has happened, but where acknowledging it would cause problems for her.

Centralising the bystander rather than the victim, as the creators have intentionally set out to present, is a relatively cautious way to discuss these ideas. We see how Xiao Qian changes from being a highly energetic and cheerful person to one filled with anxiety and depression. Feng has a magnetic presence and she tackles the complexities of this role well. Du delivers a sensitive  performance, however her emotional range and nuance is not to Feng's level and becomes evident in the scenes the two share.

The remaining three actors -  Angel Xiao, Yuyang Peng and Jiawen Feng - make up the supporting characters as well as serving as a somewhat Greek chorus with their vocal work in songs. as with Feng, Xiao is captivating to watch and leaves a strong impression with the minimal stage time that she has.

Sarah Yu's direction beautifully incorporates physicality into the acting and music. Her uncomplicated choreography allows for emotions to intensify and the audience to get a deeper sense of what Xiao Qian and A Jia are experiencing. Yu's vision complements Jun Bin Lee and Yu Zhi's book, and a scene where netizens are online gossiping and talking about the incident is incorporated well into the story, showing Yu's skill in bringing abstract sequences to life.

While characters should be different to each other, what is missing here is a uniform energy and ability within the ensemble and something Yu could concentrate on with future seasons. There also needed to be far better projection of the actors' voices, particularly during the musical numbers.

The music, also by Lee, is a highlight of Hidden Tunes, using traditional Chinese folk instruments with Wei-Lin “Lyn” Tseng on the dizi and xiao and Bingyao Liu playing the yangqin. It is almost criminal having them to the side of the room as it would have been great to have them to the side of the stage so everyone could appreciate their talent and view the instruments being used.

There are a few snags with the book, including when A Jia is contemplating whether to get involved and questioning how much of a deep friendship she has with Xiao Qian. By this point, we've already seen the bond and connection they have, so it feels like this is happening just to add further drama. Having more scenes between the two in the aftermath of what occurred would allow us to better understand Xiao Qian's state of mind, so when certain events happen - or don't happen - we are not completely surprised and baffled.

It's exciting to see non-English work being produced in Melbourne, and it's exciting to see a non-Western perspective on what is truly a universal issue. Creating 弦外之影 Hidden Tunes as a pop musical with traditional Chinese instruments is a bold decision, and even with its shortcomings, this production shows that while they may only be starting out, Small Ripples Theatre is ready to leave some big ripples in the Melbourne theatre scene.

弦外之影 Hidden Tunes was performed at La Mama Theatre between 22 - 24 November.