The Lightseeker tells the tale of The General (Stuart Boother – also check out our interview with Stuart) who goes on a quest in search of The Light in a bid to revive the powers of his dark emperor (Lim Kay Siu). The General struggles to find himself in the midst of confusion, fear and the want for freedom.
This time we were looking at an improved version of the Lightseeker, which previously scored 6.5 in our last Lightseeker review. The producers had taken in various audience feedback and responses about the musical from last year and improved on it this year. I thought it was respectable that they’d do so despite the time that it’d take and change some aspects of the musical just so it would be closer to being perfect.
I’ve always been the biggest fan of theatre and musical productions. I just love being in touch with the artsy side of me. So when I was told that I was going to watch the Lightseeker, my heart jumped for joy. It wasn’t my first time stepping into the Resorts World Sentosa theatre, but the sheer size of it was still pretty overwhelming. We were super lucky to be seated close to the stage and had an amazing view of the whole play.
The play started out with a stunning acrobatic display by the cast and I was immediately blown away by all their moves, it felt like a mini Cirque du Soleil to me! There were so many things going on that I didn’t know which part of the stage to set my eyes on. Everyone was amazing from those hanging on the ropes to those on the structures.
All the acrobatic scenes in the show were simply stunning and dare I say, they stole the show. I honestly didn’t feel like I was watching a musical, it really felt like a circus performance. If you sit close to the stage, which we did, acrobats would sometimes swing over your head. My heart skipped a beat because I was so scared that they’d fall on me. Well of course they didn’t, silly! If not, I wouldn’t be here writing this…
Another thing that impressed me was the set. I’ve watched many plays before this but the set for The Lightseeker is probably the best set I’ve ever seen. They were elaborate and fascinating, I was amazed at how they could change their sets so quickly! That is not an easy task indeed.
Although this was a musical, I wasn’t that impressed by the songs. There were too many songs that were sung, one after another and it felt draggy at times. Though I understand it’s a musical, I feel that sometimes, songs don’t best capture emotions and the situation as much as pure dialogue does.
On the other hand, their sound effects were certainly impactful. The explosions were so terrifying that I, myself, nearly got a heart attack and the family in front of me had to bring their little boy out even before the intermission because he started crying so badly.
Nonetheless, the leads Stuart Boother (The General), Vivienne Carlyle (Usha) and Nicole Sokolovic (Nova) were truly singing powerhouses. I can never understand how people can sing for so long without getting tired!
My favourite characters are hands-down, the two Imps who made everything seem much more light-hearted. They certainly played their jester roles well and they certainly kept me giggling in my seat. They looked so adorable in their costumes, I wanted to give them a huge hug at the end of the play but sadly, couldn’t find them anywhere!
Speaking of costumes, have I mentioned how mesmerizing their costumes were?! Every single character in the play had such brilliant outfits, I wouldn’t mind being part of the ensemble. I thought Nova’s costume with LED lights was so majestic, I wish I had it for my prom!
Watching The Lightseeker was a great experience and would appeal to a lot of people especially children! If you’ve never seen acrobatic acts before then this musical would certainly awe you. It’s definitely a great musical to bring your family to but just make sure you prepare your kids so they don’t get scared halfway through!
Rating: 7.5/10
If you’re interested to watch the Lightseeker, you can purchase tickets at the Resorts World Sentosa website or at SISTIC. The show is 90 minutes long with a 20 minute interval. If you want to catch this show, you better hurry because it ends on the 23rd of March 2014.
Aso check out Jensen’s backstage tour of the Lightseeker set!
{module Theatre Reviews}
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