When the Poop! hits the fan

IN Poop!, the stage brims with whimsical touches such as squares of coloured lights and unexpected objects. Right in the middle of it all is a toilet bowl, central to the idea of, well, pooping. The black light theatre piece by The Finger Players has flourescent costumes, puppetry and even a floating head.

But despite these quirky visuals, Poop! deals with the most sobering of subject matters - death, illness, suicide and grief. When a person chooses to take his own life, his family members can be so racked with sadness and incomprehension, their own relationships with each other suffer.

Written and directed by Chong Tze Chien, Poop! begins with the suicide of a family man (Julius Foo). He leaves behind his wife (Janice Koh), mother (Neo Swee Lin) and eight-year-old daughter (Jean Ng). Each of these female characters handles grief differently: the wife finds it hard to keep going, the mother trades on superstition and the idea that the dead never really go away, while the young daughter revels in childish escapism.