PROMISING NEW MUSICAL WITH ROOM TO GROW

By Trisha Cusack ⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

East meets West in this promising new musical that introduces traditional Chinese literature to new audiences. Inspired by a chapter in one of the greatest works of Chinese literature, ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’, Caged Sisters tells the tale of two sisters, You Er (Yiting Jiang) and You San (Yiquian Shao). The musical follows them as they try to live, survive, and find love during a time when, as put by the opening voiceover, women lived in ‘cages’, created by life circumstances.  

With a 75 minute run time, plus an unnecessary interval, it is clear that this Camden Fringe show is a work in progress. The ambition of the director and producer, Sheldon Long, to extrapolate and expand the tale of the You sisters, who are only minor characters in the traditional text, is very commendable. However, for newcomers it was difficult to understand the plot narrative, particularly in the first act which moves very quickly. For example, You San’s love story with Mr Liu lacked the emotional depth needed to fully comprehend the tragedy that later befalls them. 

You Er’s storyline of being a concubine and a target of her lover’s wife was much stronger and easier to understand, however. Jiang’s gorgeous vocals added to the sadness of her ‘caged’ life. The character of Lady Wang, played brilliantly by Michelle Yim, captures the complexity of women during this time – a woman who is fighting to maintain her position that she has worked hard for, while being viewed as the villainous foil to You Er’s youthful beauty. While the Caged Sister team worked well with the resource and staging they had, it would have been good to learn more about Lady Wang’s backstory. 

As with many shows, the side characters can often have the most impact. Lois Lau and Sok-Ho Trinh played the menacing Ping Er and Doctor extremely well, with the Doctor’s one-scene appearance being the most clear cut in terms of the music and narrative. 

As the show is a sung-through musical, much of the plot is driven through the songs. For future iterations of the show, the score would benefit from further polishing and refinement. For example, stronger vocals, particularly with some of the male characters are needed to fully deliver a seamless performance. However, I appreciated the blend of modern songs, such as Lady Wang and Ping Er’s very clearly Six inspired intro song, and more traditional Chinese music.

What was most insightful on this particular press night was a Q&A with the director, Sheldon Long and co-producer, Enrico Liou. Many of my concerns regarding the lack of context and short run time were addressed by the pair, who recognised that it is still a work in progress. With an actual full run time of two hours, it is clear that there is far more potential than what was shown on stage. Moreover, learning the motivations of the East Meets West theatre group to create both an opportunity to platform minority performers and for Western audiences to learn about Chinese culture and literature, makes for a richer understanding of the show’s goals. 

Overall, with the right development and additional resource to fully realise Long’s vision, Caged Sisters will be a show worth seeing.

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