Esplanade Theatre, Singapore
18 Nov – 4 Dec 2005

Ming – Sheila Francisco
Ah See – Sebastian Tan
Richard – Michael K. Lee
Swee Neo – Eleanor Tan
Alice – Emma Yong
Uncle Albert – Adrian Pang
Emma – Laura Michelle Kelly
Inspector East – Anthony Drewe
Rosalind – Melissa Chiew
Michael/Sergeant Prescott – Bernd Wing Hofer
Young Swee Neo – Josephine Tan
Delivery Boy/Policeman/Rickshaw Puller – Greg Swyny

Music – Dick Lee
Book/Director – Steven Dexter
Book – Tony Petito
Musical Director, Arranger and Orchestrator – David Shrubsole
Choreographer – Nick Winston
Set Designer – Francis O’Connor
Lighting Designer – Yo Shao Ann
Sound Designer – Mike Walker
Costume Designer – Hayden Ng
Production Manager – Evelyn Chia
Stage Manager – Grace Low

A Twist of Fate Esplanade Theatre, Singapore
Directed by Steven Dexter
Choreographed by Nick Winston

21st November 2005 Today (Singapore) Neil Humphreys

In recent months, Singapore's stage performances have been patchy at best. Award-winning turns have been hampered by immature scripting, great dancers have been let down by pretentious concepts and on, one or two occasions, a low budget has burdened a show with production values that left it looking much like a secondary school play. Fortunately, A Twist of Fate is a glorious exception: A clue to suggest that both the Esplanade and the theatre scene is on the right track, a red herring hidden among mediocre productions, this fabulous musical stands out as one of the theatrical highlights of 2005.

True, A Twist of Fate has been staged here twice before, in 1997 and 1998, and may attract cynical yawns from those who suggest the Singapore Repertory Theatre should offer more original fare.

But until a wittier script turns up with a better musical scores and more succinct lyrics, I would recommend that every Singaporean head along to the Esplanade to work out "whodunnit".

Running until Dec 4, A Twist of Fate is more than a guilty pleasure. It's a feast for the voracious theatregoer.

Set in 1937, it's an old-fashioned murder mystery that lampoons the works of Agatha Christie, bringing all the suspects together - always "at midnight" - to reveal the murderer, just as the great Inspector Hercule Poirot always did in classics like One, Two Buckle My Shoe and Hickory Dickory Dock.

But Dick Lee and Anthony Drewe's fine work (Drewe actually appears as the Inspector) is not a rehash of a Christie pot-boiler, but a delightful parody.

A more apt comparison would be to Neil Simon's hilarious movie Murder By Death (1976), which starred Peter Sellers and David Niven.

The jazzy, piano-tinkling musical score in the style of the 1920s and 1930s, the costumes, the midnight meetings, thunder claps, the genteel colonial setting with tea and biscuits, the unnecessary, and far-too-detailed confession by the murderer as he thinks he is about to escape; it's all lampooned in A Twist of Fate.

And it's hilarious. So much so that individual punchlines were applauded on several occasions, a rarity on the Singapore stage.

That's due in part to the cast. Adrian Pang's comic turn as Uncle Albert deserves special mention, as the Singaporean possesses an often unappreciated gift for stage comedy.

Sheila Francisco's big-busomed Ming, the lady of the house, threatens to walk off with all the plaudits. Both her delivery and her singing are pitch perfect.

Award-winning actress Laura Michelle Kelly has less to do as Emma than she did on London's West End as Mary Poppins, but on a couple of solos, she shows off a vocal range that leaves one hammering down the goosebumps.

But then, the entire cast do not miss a beat and the lavish SRT production (the revolving colonial house set is wonderful) deserves all the plaudits that should be thrown its way.

It's no mystery. A Twist of Fate is one of the best plays of 2005.