Por Por delivers the laughs, but fails gastronomically
SET against the backdrop of a wedding dinner in a restaurant, Por Por’s Big Fat Surprise Wedding is Singapore Repertory Theatre’s (SRT) new dinner theatre production centred on a 70-year-old woman who rediscovers love late in life.
Despite the unimpressive food designed by chef Manjunath Mural (who helmed the now-defunct Michelin-starred Song of India), the show has been such a hit that it’s extended its run to Dec 3.
Koh Chieng Mun (former TV star of Under One Roof) plays the titular Por Por, who seems to have everything in life, from wealth to grandkids. But what she really misses is some love and romance. A genuine self-starter, she decides to take matters into her own hands by staging a wedding with a mystery groom – so mysterious, in fact, that even her own son (Edward Choy) doesn’t know his identity.
The show is directed by industry stalwart Dick Lee, who not-so-incidentally co-created SRT’S first hit dinner theatre show Ah Kong’s Birthday Party exactly 25 years ago. Ever the entertainer, Lee works with playwright Jo Tan (who also stars as Por Por’s daughter-in-law) to sustain the show’s high entertainment value, with
Hindi dances, karaoke singing, frequent audience interaction and a string of plot twists.
Regrettably, while the show is entertaining, the food fails to match its highs. At the Saturday night run at One Farrer Hotel which this reviewer attended, the lentil broccoli almond soup arrived lukewarm, the crispy fish tasted no better than the frozen fish fingers sold in supermarkets, and the saffron pulao rice was flavourless.
Judging by the chaotic shuffling among the wait staff, and the simultaneous occurrence of real weddings in other rooms, One Farrer Hotel appeared seriously short-staffed.
Thankfully, the committed performances salvaged the evening: Koh as the vivacious Por Por, Tan as the extremely nervous daughter-in-law, Choy as the short-tempered son, and Chacko Vadaketh as the silver-tongued restaurant manager.
Por Por’s Big Fat Surprise Wedding is worth catching if you’re looking for simple entertainment. But temper your culinary expectations.
Por Por’s Big Fat Surprise Wedding runs at One Farrer Hotel from now till Dec 3. Tickets available at srt.com.sg