Madame Mao's memories

AN emotionally austere and intellectually demanding play on Madame Mao and her role in China's Cultural Revolution is perhaps par for the course for the Singapore International Festival of Arts, whose theme this year is "Post-Empires".

Performed by acting students of Lasalle College of the Arts, directed by Wang Chong of China's avant-garde company Theatre du Reve Experimental and written by Zhao Binghao, it places complex lines of dialogue about art, history, power and revolution into the mouths of babes - with mixed results.

Casting young actors in a political play is perhaps a deliberate artistic decision - it creates a Brechtian-style emotionally distancing effect to encourage the audience to focus on the political issues instead of getting swept up by the story and characters. And there's something to be said about putting a student cast in a political play about art and propaganda in a country where artists struggle with strict censorship laws. (The festival itself has had a few run-ins with the censors.)