Pangdemonium’s latest comedy, Fat Pig, which is written by Neil Labute, revolves around the story of Tom (Gavin Yap), a young, good-looking executive who finds himself drawn to the plus-sized Helen (Frances Lee). Helen is sweet, intelligent and charming; however, for reasons he cannot fathom, Tom feels the need to keep their budding relationship under wraps. His best friend, Carter (Zachary Ibrahim)—your typical modern dandy—as well as his previous fling, Jeannie (Elizabeth Lazan), are both obsessed with discovering the identity of Tom’s new girl; however, Tom goes out of the way to conceal the truth.
On the whole, the play was wonderfully executed, with all four characters delivering stellar performances. We take our hats off to Zachary Ibrahim, whose immoral (yet ridiculously hilarious) character, Carter, frequently elicited raucous laughter from the audience. Gavin Yap also portrayed Tom’s dilemma with emotional finesse. Elizabeth Lazan did a great job as the rather psychotic Jeannie, while Frances Lee was able to bring out both the confidence, as well as the insecurities, of Helen—definitely not an easy task. We really couldn’t find fault with anything at all: dialogue was constantly entertaining, and the set, while small, is well-designed and effective—we especially love the beach background in the last scene.
All in all, the play did an excellent job of dramatizing the taboos and prejudices present in our society today. The bittersweet ending did come as a bit of a shock to us—but we can’t possibly disclose what it is here, so do go and watch the play to find out!
