4:48 PSYCHOSIS

Never had I imagined that my first experience of watching a play would be a thrilling and exciting one. Recently, my friends and I went to KL Pac to watch one of the plays in the Black Box Festival 2007- 4.48 Psychosis, directed by Gavin Yap. By looking at the title, you can definitely predict the terribly sad ending of this play. Thus, I am going to tell about my unforgettable experiences however before that let me just give you some brief ideas about the play. Basically, the play deals with psychological crisis faced by a nameless woman. The play ended tragically as she finally commits suicide as the result of her unbearable mental anguish and life despair. Well, not a happily-ever-after ending though. What I really like about 4.48 Psychosis is its minimalist concepts. With only three great and charismatic casts namely Susan Lankester, Samantha Schubert and Malik Taufiq, I felt overwhelmed by their superb acting skills. Their voice projections are clear and loud while articulating all the monologues and dialogues with lots of repetition as well. Most of the dialogues and monologues are between the patients and the therapist. The minimalist concept can also be seen by the casts’ apparels. They just wore simple T-shirt and khakis pants. Apart from that, the stage consisted of a few props such as two staircases-one leads to an upper level stage while the other one had a door-like mirror in the end. There are also a hanging doctor’s coat and certainly lots of mirror all around the stage. Suddenly the idea of mirror of life emerged in my mind. The lightings are fantastic just like the synchronized rhythm of music. I was surprised when the spot lights were suddenly being focused directly to us and the actor was talking as if we are also one of the characters in the play. Personally, I think this is a good play to be seen and worth-viewing. As I left KL Pac, I still can’t stop my mind from thinking about Malik Taufiq and the play (of course). “Remember the light and believe in the light”….