SRT’s Hanuman: A Classic Updated for the Modern Age

Mention “superhero” and you can be sure that my son wants in.

So it was no surprise to me that he zoomed in on the flyers for “Hanuman — The Superhero Monkey” and told me he wanted to see the show. I myself was intrigued. Having grown up on a diet of folktales and legends, I am familiar with some of the stories of the Ramayana, the Indian epic from which this story is drawn, though it’s been some years since I’ve revisited it.

In Hanuman — The Superhero Monkey, the story begins with Sita the beloved queen of Rama being abducted by the evil demon Ravana, the King of Lanka. Rama approaches Hanuman to help save Sita from Ravana’s clutches. Hanuman assembles a band of four other monkeys to join him on this quest, but he doesn’t tell them one thing — that contrary to what Rama what declared, he has no powers, having lost them as a result of having misused them to create trouble in his youth. Would Hanuman be able to recover his powers and would the monkeys be able to rescue Sita and defeat Ravana? You’ll have to watch the show to find out!

The show was touted as being a multi-sensory experience and I was certainly wowed by way multimedia was used in the telling of the story. This is the work of UK-based Imitating the Dog, which collaborated with the Singapore Repertory Theatre on this production. The actual set looked very simple but in actual fact consisted of white panels and boxes which could be moved around on which different backdrops and animation could be projected. The live characters on stage constantly interact with the animation in a way that is very engaging and I felt like we the audience were transported into being part of a live-action cartoon. This enhanced the comic book feel of the show, which was in turn I thought was a clever way to tell the story and in line with the superhero billing Hanuman received.

I also liked the how the values of self-belief, determination and friendship formed the basis of the story. Always good lessons for the kids!

And speaking of the kids, my children, they loved the show. Mei didn’t cry at all even though some parts were loud and could be scary, and that has to be some kind of a record! They were both very engaged, with Noey practicing his kungfu moves in his seat as the monkeys went through their paces on stage. Mei developed a real fondness for the characters, especially Millie the monkey, and couldn’t stop asking questions and repeating portions of the story after we left the theatre.

I was glad we went for this show and would recommend it for families looking to expand their horizons beyond the usual fairy tales and kids’  stories experience a literary epic, updated and modernised for today’s tech-saturated audience.

This show is recommended for ages 5 years and up.

GIVEAWAY!

I have a FAMILY PACKAGE OF 4 TICKETS to watch Hanuman — The Superhero Monkey on Saturday 16 Apr 2016 at 11am! Please note that the date and time of the tickets cannot be changed.

To enter this giveaway, simply complete all of the following:

1. Visit the Singapore Repertory Theatre Facebook Page

2. Visit the Life is in the Small Things Facebook Page

(While you’re there, it is not obligatory but we would greatly appreciate it if you could “LIKE” these pages!

3. Comment on this post on Facebook telling me why you should win.

4. Leave a comment on this blog post with your e-mail address. This is the e-mail address I will use to contact you if you win.

That’s it! This draw will close at 12pm on 13 Apr 2016 and is open to Singapore residents only. The rest of the usual terms and conditions apply.

Hanuman — The Superhero Monkey
Ticketing and Show Information

Season: 1 April to 30 April 2016
Venue: KC Arts Centre — Home of SRT
Performance Times: Tues to Fri 10am; Sat and Sun 11am and 2pm
Ticket Prices:  Weekends $48, $38, $35; Weekdays $28, 25
Duration: About 45 mins
Booking Through Sistic: http://www.sistic.com.sg/events/hanu0416 or call the ticketing hotline at 6348-5555.

*We thank SRT for the media invitation to review this show and for all the pictures used in this post. All opinions remain, as always, authentically my own.