Just last night, I watched the most amazing musical at Edinburgh's Playhouse Theatre, which I hadn't been able to get out of my mind ever since. It was so good, I just had to blog about it. As it was a Thursday night, a number of seats weren't filled, so my seat was reissued and upgraded to a more expensive one with a better view of the stage- lucky me.
I hadn't had high expectations of this play. I half expected a plot similar to the abridged version of Jekyll & Hyde, in which I had studied as part of the school syllabus many years ago. But when the curtains unfold, the wonderful songs, beautiful voices, great acting, excellent stage and visual effects flood my senses, I was swept and taken into the storyline, absorbed into the drama of every scene. It was my most immersive and amazing theatre experience ever.
The vocalists had great voices. Marti Pellow- who played Jekyll & Hyde was at his tip performance, but one singer- the one playing Lucy (Sabrina Carter) stole the show. Amazing voice, amazing acting. The agony and pain she portrayed were so real, I caught sight of a number of audiences sniffing. I could never forget the sadistic scene of her death when she had been so sweetly, savagely and erotically murdered by Hyde.
The entire play had been intense, dramatic, with the interplay between good and evil strikingly portrayed, perfected with a tinge of eroticism. There was Jekyll's idealism, Hyde's sadism and zest for life, Emma's love and concern, and tortured Lucy with her unreciprocrated love. I almost wanted to purchase a ticket to watch it a second time. Absolutely amazing. If you're in the UK, this musical is not to be missed.
1997 production of Jekyll & Hyde: This is the Moment
It's a blessing, to lose everything. For a person who has nothing has everything to gain. The more we possess, the more we stand to lose. Which is why the ones who own nothing fear nothing and the ones who possess fear losing that which they possess.
There are two types of beggars: Unhappy ones who curse and want more, and happy ones who are happy to have nothing other than their daily bread. How carefree the latter- where their only concern is how to use their daily earnings to fill their stomachs. Whereas the former scrimp and live in fear and suspicion of losing the little that they keep.
Fear. Isn't it an illusion to imagine that we can possess in the first place? Is it the object that we seek to possess, or the possession of the experience associated with the object that we seek?
You think you own whatever land you land on
The earth is just a dead thing you can claim
Possessions are just that: dead things. Lands we possess but are not able to enjoy. People we strive to "own", yet... There is joy in spontaneity that can never be captured, or rather, should not be captured. There is beauty in the flow, for just as breath captured becomes foul; and captured animals lose their vitality, doesn't captured love soon loses its meaning? Perhaps.
Does a captured heart stay with us forever? Or must we capture it over and over again? Or can the most we capture only a fraction of a heart, for a fraction is the maximum allotted to us?
If only I can be as a beggar. A contented beggar. Wanting nothing, enjoying everything, fearing nothing.
