The one where Firah went to watch The Seagull Presented By The Royal Shakespeare Company and Singapore Repertory Theater.

"I dreamnt about you. And you were looking at me but you didn't recognize me."


You know who you are and if you're reading this by any chance you know that I've said these words to you before...

It was a really long play. But a ridiculously awesome play nonetheless.

I was separated from the girls as I had bought the $160 (RM380) tickets. Apparently it was on circle 2 whereas they were on circle 3. Kinda cool cause when I watched Phantom of the Opera, we were in circle 3.

As I tried to stop myself from looking like a lost soul, I noticed the the usher who was manning door 8 was actually the same guy who manned our door for Phantom of the Opera. So I started talking to him and soon we realized that they were running late. He told me that since it's The Royal Shakespeare Company, they want everything to be perfect before they open the doors. I mean come on...the company has been around since before the 20th century. Perfection is in their blood.

So anyways, I got a-talking with this other guy and it kinda deterred me from being nervous since it seemed that the people who bought the circle 2 tickets were really, erm, well dressed. There were some local celebs that I spotted, some familiar like Koh Ching Mun and Patricia Ooi and some that I recognized their faces but not really their names...lol...(wait..did I spell their names correctly?)

But the doors finally opened around 7.50pm and I found out that my seat was actually quite awesome. Center, baby..

Obviously to watch Sir Ian Mckellen perform was one of my main reasons for paying the amount that I did but what I didn't realize was that Monica Dolan was also acting in the play. I LOVED her in A Midsummer Night's Dream and she was equally spectacular as Masha.

Ian Mckellen was more of a supporting role in this play but his comic timing was impeccable. I was actually kind of afraid that I would not be able to follow the play cause well, I never got round to reading The Seagull.

But have a little faith, Firah...it was kick-butt man...a play within a play. How jealousy can rule a man's life..how a young girl's innocence can be what destroys her...a woman's desire to hide her innermost fears from being discovered.

Symbolisms were rampant in the play. It was up to you to catch them and to interpret them. Although I haven't read the play, seeing that it is Checkov, you would notice the intricate stage directions quite immediately. Where the shadows were cast, the lighting, and even the way the props were set up on the stage. Even the way the crew changed the set was very fluid, but I don't know if it was in the script or if that's just the way the RSC do it...

I loved the way they used up the whole stage. Albeit, from where I was sitting, the stage looked kind of small. But the way the tree trunks were extended all the way up till you could not see the end, and even the tall doors of Konstantin's house created a semblance of "space". The incorporation of three settings on one stage..very very well done.

Acting-wise, what is there to say? First class. They capture your attention, draw you into their world and allow you to experience the conflict emotions that they are trying to portray.

During my conversation with this guy outside the theater hall, he asked me why I was willing to come in from JB and pay so much for the play. My answer to that was,

"My degree is English Language and Literature. I studied this (pointing to the play program) for 5 years. It would be pointless for me to not go and watch the company that has made depicting Shakespeare into life possible."

And I must say it was ridiculously well worth it. Although it went long, over 3 hours to be exact (the longest anything I've ever watched live), it was perfectly alright. It was worth the blisters on my feet, running across the Causeway terminal trying to catch the last bus to JB at 12.30am. It was worth the empty stomach and the sore feet...everything was worth it cause I finally realized two of my (numerous) literary dreams. First, I witnessed Phantom of the Opera...and yesterday I watched a play by the RSC.... I honestly don't know what else that can be greater than that...

Oh yeah..getting a PhD in English Literature...*heee*

Ok, I will stop indulging myself now...