Review by Dhinesha Karthigesu
Summary: Horace the Killer Couch is the latest theatrical production staged by Pop Up Theatre. The one act-comedy play was written and directed by Scott McQuaid. The show ran from the 22nd to the 23rd of June 2024 at SoulCity Hub.
Ethan (Firdaus Sufiyan) and Afternoon (Alexandra Kay) attempt to attack Horace the Killer Couch. PHOTO: Pop Up Theatre.
When watching a theatre show, different audience members tend to be drawn to different things. This is entirely because of their own POVs, interests, desires and state of mind as they watch a show. Some people are drawn to the story and narrative. Some to the technical aspects (the lights, the staging, the scenic design, the theatre craft). Some are drawn to the direction and execution or even the messaging and intention of the makers. Sometimes it’s possible to even take a step back and consider the overall experience. As you read this review, perhaps you should consider which kind of audience you are?
So what happens then when a show comes along that does some very unique theatre magic but appears to falter in other elements? That's what you get (in this reviewer’s opinion) with Horace the Killer Couch.
Written and directed by Scott McQuaid (a British expat writer-director with multiple BOH Cameronian Arts Awards), Horace the Killer Couch is a one-act comedy play that in the words of its makers is an absurd farce. It tells the tale of Ethan (played by Firdaus Sufiyan), an American who has moved into a flat in London with some very unique tenants including one in his very own home, the killer couch from the title named Horace. Horace (voiced by Scott McQuaid himself) is a mix of homicidal, philosophical and judgemental showcasing a side of British humour that isn’t always for everyone. In fact, on the day of the show I watched, most of the laughter was from what felt like the dads in the audience.
Now what does Horace the Killer Couch as a show succeed and do really well? It does well by the couch itself. So in a way, it truly lives up to its title. Because this is where the show and the direction truly shines. From sudden gashes and blood streaks on the faces of characters after reaching under the couch to the movements of the couch itself, I actually found myself quite intrigued by the theatre craft on display. The gore, the scares and the movements of said couch were extremely well executed. More than once I tried to look around the stage and space to find out how they were pulling it off. There is even a moment towards the end of the show involving the couch that I won’t spoil for future audiences that truly made me go “DAMN, HOW ARE THEY DOING THAT?!?”. Kudos to the team for bringing a sense of wonder and awe to the stage through their technical craft.
Horace also shines with its dedication to its scenic design. Featuring a sketched out style and drawn background, the show allows itself to extend this design to all manners of props and items. From a potted plant to a white carrot, everything in this world looks alike and drawn like a sketch. And this works to the world that the makers are building on. It's unique and the thought that has been put into it, is very much appreciated. Everything in this world and on stage fits a specific aesthetic and all belong in the same world.
The drawn out backgrounds and scenic design of the world of Horace the Killer Couch. PHOTO: Pop Up Theatre.
Despite all the stagecraft and scenic design at play though, the show struggles the most with its characters, acting and story. With an intriguing premise of a talking murderous couch and mostly well executed murder sequences, you can’t help but wish that the other elements stood up to that level of creativity and uniqueness.
In fact, the story leans heavy into stereotypes and tropes that feel like they walked right off of a playwriting manual from the Western canon of years ago. Ethan, our protagonist is your “Nerdy Virginal Main Character”. How do I know he is a virgin? The play tells you. REPEATEDLY. In fact it's part of an entire subplot and gets discussed constantly by the other characters. The landlady Ms Wong is your typical “Asian Dragon Lady”. Dressed up as almost as a knockoff of the Landlady Aunty from Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle, Tan Soo Tze drawls in a typical Chinese accent and gets confused with words and languages.
The remaining characters are the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” (Afternoon played by Producer-Actor Alexandra Kay), the “Moody Goth Girl” (Cat played by Ella Sophia) and the “Flamboyant Thespian” (Lord Vallen played by Rhadd Hunt). The tropes write themselves and insist on boldly existing.
The cast of Horace the Killer Couch is made up of standing left to right: Lord Vallen (Rhadd Hunt), Cat (Ella Sophia), Ms Wong (Tan Soo Tze) and seated left to right: Afternoon (Alexandra Kay) and Ethan (Firdaus Sufiyan). PHOTO: Pop Up Theatre.
The problem perhaps is not that the show is made up of tropes. That's the prerogative of any playwright/director, the problem is that the show refuses to do anything with them beyond them being their tropes. There is no nuance or depth. They are stereotypes and they exist purely as those stereotypes which makes for a very difficult watch in 2024 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Especially when the actors are putting on a variety of different accents to sound like they are from a time and place foreign to them. Why set this show in London and then stage it here? Why make all the characters speak in accents and voices? Especially when in some of their cases, the accents and voices come across as grating (Afternoon) or racist (Ms Wong) or even difficult to hear what they are saying (Cat). Perhaps with more direction and character building done with and given to the actors, it would have been possible to have tried to elevate beyond these tropes.
This in turn is further exacerbated by choices made by the playwright-director to include gay jokes, entire conversations about character’s sexual histories and the judging of them and I guess the worst offender of all: sexual harassment jokes. Twice in the show, two of the female characters offer their bodies to the main character Ethan who balks awkwardly and frantically. Now we are all for female agency and sexual empowerment but when the execution points towards a joke and an attempt to make your audience laugh, you can’t help but wonder about the politics and intentions of the makers.
Ethan (Firdaus Sufiyan) is accosted by Afternoon (Alexandra Kay). PHOTO: Pop Up Theatre.
All in all, Horace the Killer Couch is a valiant attempt by a fringe theatre company made up of a ragtag team of two makers. Credit where credit is due, making theatre in KL is not easy and so any attempt to put up shows, should be appreciated. Especially with the theatre craft at play in this show and even the unexpected twist at the end.
But perhaps one does hope it did not have to come at the expense of story, cheap jokes, weak acting choices and that perhaps it involved characters who are more than tropes. Theatre can and should be more than that no?
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