outofthe|Blue, a theatre interest group initiated by undergraduates from the Faculty of Science in May 2008, made their full house debut at the University Cultural Centre with Neil Simon’s “California Suite.”
 
Although still a fledgling theatre group, outofthe|Blue had a promising start as they made some nifty work out of Neil Simon’s ingenuity.

In the same vein as Simon’s hilarious award-winning play “Plaza Suite,” “California Suite” is a four-act play about five different couples and an expensive hotel suite in California, which bears witness to each of their comic yet poignant shenanigans.

The first act about a divorced couple fighting for custody of their 17-year old daughter was played by third-year life science major Narisa Chan and first-year mathematics major Lim Zheng Hong.

Both managed decent but grating performances. Chan had an odd accent that was distracting, even if it was intentional, while Lim could have played his insouciant character with slightly less shtick to make it more believable.
 
Eventually, it was Simon’s brilliant dialogue that perfectly captured the mercurial emotional process of their encounter that shone through and saved the day. 
 
In this beautifully funny act, one cannot help but watch as the two characters negotiate the remains of their broken relationship with measures of wit and humour, as well as hints of vulnerability in an atmosphere kept taut with a vague undercurrent of sexual tension.
 
The following act was what one can presume to be the theatre group in top form as Kishan Kumar Singh, a second-year life science major, gave the best performance of the night.

Playing Marvin, a loving husband who unwittingly cheats on his wife one drunken night, Kishan was a laugh-a-minute tour de force as he made his precarious way through the cleverly constructed act involving a comatose hooker in the bedroom and a wife who has just arrived to join him in their suite.  
 
Well-supported by a likeable and pretty Isabella Tay, first-year food science and technology major who played his wife, the second act was an utter delight to watch.

Following intermission was Bong Xiu Feng, first-year computational biology major, as Diana, an English actress nominated for an award on the night of the Oscars and her antiques collector gay husband Sidney, played by Ng Kian Kee.

Bong, who was playing a role that British actress Maggie Smith actually won an Oscar for, convincingly portrayed the tumultuous emotions the tough role demands and Ng provided a nice counterpoint to the histrionics of his wife, making the observation of an ill-fated but loving marriage a piteously moving one.
 
Concluding the show was a saggy act involving two couples, also best friends with each other, on holiday. The weakest act of the play, the four amateur actors made the best out of the dragged out plot that slowly degenerates into utter chaos as the audience watched on somewhat restlessly.

“California Suite,” which was selected by director and producer, Haresh s/o Sivaram and Chan Xin Wei, was a good choice that allowed the group to explore nuances of the comic and the tragic in the bittersweet play.

A compelling and decent addition to the NUS arts scene, Haresh, a second-year chemistry student, said: “I just hope this production has proven to the university at large that even the faculty of science can stage a theatrical production, and that science students are just muggers and geeks is a huge misconception.”

outofthe|Blue expects to stage their next production early next year.