Drama lays bare struggles with autism

AT the ticketing counter of Pangdemonium's new heart-wrenching play Falling, the staff was offering packets of tissue along with the programme booklets. Take it if you're prone to weeping, because there's no way your eyes will stay dry for this one.

Falling, directed by Tracie Pang, centres on a family doing their best to raise their severely autistic son Josh (Andrew Marko). Mother Tami (Tan Kheng Hua) is patient, dedicated and creative in figuring out how to keep Josh happy - but she's also bone-tired.

Father Bill (Adrian Pang) loves his son no less, but chooses to be practical about possibly placing him in specialised care. Their daughter Lisa (Fiona Lim) is your average teenage girl growing up with her share of angst and anxieties - emotions made worse by the fact that her brother Josh is grappling with his own burgeoning sexuality.