Humanity is inherently flawed – that’s the key take-away from this show. You’d think that a show with such a discouraging core message would be dreary, but Echoes of Nüwa managed to give what otherwise could have been a very depressing topic a comedic twist.
By mixing social commentary with humorous props and jokes, this show created a balance between the serious and the silly. One moment, they were using a toilet seat to frame members of the audience and expose their desires in a hilarious fashion, a few minutes later they were discussing how an excess of desire can lead to tyrannical rulers and corrupt societies.
The show was well structured to provide a scathing social commentary against instilling too much power in a singular person, even in a “democratic” system. While this commentary was at times basic or obvious, it was the way that it so smoothly meshed with humour that really made this show stand out.
The use of sound and lighting really came together at the end of the performance, with a comedic slow-motion scene to intensely dramatic music and flashing red lights which garnered many laughs from the audience.
Even as the performance began to take a darker twist, it was brought back with a final moment of hilarious dark humour, essentially suggesting that the best human society is one in which we self-destruct and start again from scratch. It was conveyed humorously, but also left the audience with food for thought.
Its evident that the three actresses (Chia-Yi Chan, Jinyu Dan, and Qianyi Wang) care deeply about this show, from the attention to detail that has gone into the performance, to the custom-made sticker sheets that they provided to ever audience member at the end of the show. Their commitment is what shone through, and its what made the show worth a watch.
Echoes of Nüwa: The Last Human Project is running until 23 August (excluding 17th) at the Studio at theSpaceTriplex.
Buy tickets here.
Image provided to The Student by Echoes of Nüwa: The Last Human Project