Following the spectacular 2024 Stratford success of his play Salesman in China—which, happily, Mirvish will remount next winter—uber-talented Montreal-based Jovanni Sy has written and directed a contemporary Asian Canadian reimagining of British playwright William Congreve’s 1700 Restoration comedy, The Way of the World.
Set in Singapore just after the pandemic, this Tao (or “the way”) makes mad mockery of the filthy-rich elite as they scheme over sex, power and massive fortunes. The result is a clever but flawed fusion of 18th-century theatrical wit and contemporary Asian rom-com—a sort of love child of Crazy Rich Asians and The Importance of Being Earnest.
Self-absorbed socialite Arabella (Agnes Wong) is heiress to a fabulous fortune and serves as the principal narrator—there are others. She wants to marry her former lover, Asian movie star and heartthrob Edward (Angus Yam). The problem is Edward only has eyes for Arabella’s cousin, Millicent (Heidi Sy Damayo). He needs Arabella to convince the family matriarch, Lady Helena Yu (Manami Hara), to bless his union with Millicent. There is, however, one enormous complication: Millicent’s late father decreed that her $80-million inheritance will only be paid out if she remains a virgin until she turns 40.
Plot sidelines abound. Arabella’s greedy, adulterous husband, Trevor (Tim Campbell), plans a hostile takeover of her family’s business empire while his lascivious lover, Eleanor Marwood (Sara-Jeanne Hosie), plots revenge against Lady Helena’s snobby condescension.
Edward and Arabella’s gay friends Jackson (Derek Kwan) and Devan (Karthik Kadam), themselves living under the shadow of age-old colonial laws criminalizing LGBTQ relations, are sucked into the swirling quagmire of plotting, schemes and deception.
In Act 2, Sy’s narrative makes a bold and transformative move. What was Arabella’s story in Act 1 now becomes a narrative of the working-class servants. Having toiled on the sidelines, they are now given a voice to speak about class exploitation, the heavy burden placed on their livelihoods, and the extent to which the wealthy depend on them to maintain their sybaritic lifestyles. It’s a jarring tonal shift to farce and absurdist comedy that never quite finds its way back onto the original track, leaving me trying to keep both acts connected. Lady Yu attempts to bed a Taoist monk, while Dr. Wilson Wong (Michael Man) tries to reconcile his arranged betrothal to Millicent with his attraction to Devan while things get down and dirty in a pool cabana.
Regardless, Sy keeps the pace snappy and engaging. His staging in the thrust space is fine, although prolonged backs to the audience sometimes make the dialogue hard to follow.
Ming Wong’s gorgeous costumes feature designs and fabrics that mirror the hedonistic lifestyles of the Singaporean elite, while Sophie Tang’s broad lighting and effective use of spotlights direct our attention to who needs to be seen and who needs to remain in shadow.
Lorenzo Savoini’s simple and versatile set of moveable rectangular carts and a few tall green palms whisk us from hotel lobby to spa to apartment to raunchy nightclub.
Despite wobbly and inconsistent accents, the performances are uniformly high-energy, with no one taking themselves too seriously. Agnes Wong’s Arabella is delightfully scheming and becomes increasingly compelling as she transforms over the course of the play. Perhaps it was opening-night nerves, but her rapid-fire delivery could be taken down a few notches. I’m sure this will settle as the run progresses.
Heidi Sy Damayo is excellent as Millicent, perfectly embodying the giddy, somewhat naïve young woman yearning for romance, while Angus Yam’s Edward plays the conflicted playboy caught in the middle of the romantic triangle.
Some of the biggest laughs come from the supporting cast. Manami Hara clearly relishes the role of the regal and officious Lady Helena Yu, while Michael Man delivers fine physical comedy as the awkwardly blundering Dr. Wilson Wong. Stratford veterans Tim Campbell as Trevor Flynn and Sara-Jeanne Hosie as Eleanor Marwood deliver memorable character work through their physicality and expressive faces. Honourable mention goes to Nadine Villasin and Nestor Lozano Jr. for their small but compelling performances as servants attempting to balance the scales between the haves and the have-nots of their daily lives.
Sy’s abrupt change in genre and tone in Act 2 was undeniably startling. Still, The Tao of the World is a laugh-out-loud romp that lampoons society, class, power, wealth and culture as they attempt to snap back to a “normal” life after the pandemic—while laying bare the uncomfortable truth that there will be no such “restoration” for the working class.
Running time: approximately two hours and 25 minutes with one intermission.
The production runs to September 26 at the Tom Patterson Theatre, 111 Lakeside Drive, Stratford. For tickets: 1-800-567-1600 or visit: www.stratfordfestvial.ca
The Stratford Festival Presents
“The Tao of the World” by Jovanni Sy
Directed by Jovanni Sy
Lighting by Sophie Tang
Set by Lorenzo Savoini
Costumes by Ming Wong
CAST: Agnes Tong, Angus Yam, Heidi Sy Damayo, Manami Hara, Karthik Kadam, Derek Kwan, Michael Man, Tim Campbell, Sara-Jeanne Hosie, Scotia Browner, Richard Lee, Nestor Lozano Jr., Davinder Malhi, Silvae Mercedes, Nadine Villasin, Jennifer Villaverde
