L-R: Arissa (Janine Ng), Adam (Chaney Chia), Maya (Kyra Lefebvre) / Photo: Joseph Nair / Courtesy of Checkpoint Theatre

Hard Mode
Checkpoint Theatre
24 October 2024
SOTA Drama Theatre
18-26 October 2024

In Faith Ng’s Hard Mode, we are drawn into a world of BTS, Discord, TikTok dances, and buying multiple copies of the same album just to have all the variations of the album’s cover art. 

But it is also a world of neglect, self-harm, uncertainty, and unhealthy relationships. 

In primary school, shy Adam formed an unlikely friendship with the clownish Rian, and nerdy XY, as they call themselves the Sengkang Gang and go on all sorts of adventures. Adjacent to the boys are Arissa (Adam’s older sister) and Maya (Arissa’s best friend and Adam’s love interest).   

As the quintet goes into their teens, the academic and societal pressures become more acute, while they also have to navigate diverging paths, emotional baggage from their parents, and school politics. 

Ng’s meticulous year-long research into the struggles of local teenagers is evident as she carefully weaves many of them into her characters’ lives. Unfortunately, her tapestry is so large that most of the struggles are presented as highlights; quick mentions or hints in some monologues.

But Ng’s ambition does not stop there. She added a metatheatrical element in which characters are occasionally aware they are in a play to resist the sense of inevitability that realism brings. 

Additionally, the timeline of the play toggles between different points in the future and the present. This is indicated by a crew member walking across the stage with a sign showing the year, which adds an unnecessary cognitive load to the audience; we have to do the mental arithmetic to figure the age of the characters and reorientate ourselves. 

Perhaps, these additions are Ng’s way to reassure her largely adolescent audience that they are going to survive their teenage years somehow. But with a run time of 135 minutes, Hard Mode has simply too many side quests. 

Photo: Joseph Nair / Courtesy of Checkpoint Theatre

Yet, it must be noted that, for a generation that is often derided for their miniscule attention spans, the teenagers were engaged throughout the show. 

It may be easy to put that down to BTS’s discography that signals scene changes or Ng having Gen Alpha’s lingo down pat, which send the teenagers grooving or chortling in their seats.

But it would be remiss of me not to point out director Claire Wong’s ability to build a tight-knit ensemble out of the cast: Chaney Chia (Adam), Izzul Irfan (Rian), Janine Ng (Arissa), Kyra Lefebvre (Maya), and Matthias Teh (XY). A strong chemistry is evident across all cast members as they effortlessly pick up on each other’s cues, and keep the energy going. 

Kudos should go to the cast for their subtleties in their physicality as they shift from being unsure and slightly jittery to being more self-assured in their 20s. That said, the choice to speak in a higher pitch to portray youth sometimes limits the dexterity of their vocal timbre, which hampers the impact of certain emotional moments.

During the particular performance I attended, sign language interpreters Azzam and Fang Shawn share the stage with the cast. They are not merely relegated to the sides, but are placed close enough to the action, but not obstructing the characters. The inclusion of the interpreters are thoughtful and not a tokenistic gesture. 

The expressiveness of the interpreters adds an interesting alternative to what is going on stage, and I found myself referring to them at a particularly emotional or tense scene just as a comparison. 

This makes me wonder how do d/Deaf audience members experience the show as it is difficult to watch both the interpreters and actors at the same time. 

Sengkang Squad: Rian (Izzul Irfan), Adam (Chaney Chia), XY (Matthias Teh) / Photo: Joseph Nair / Courtesy of Checkpoint Theatre

The costume choices by Max Tan and hairstyling by Leong adeptly aid in changing the looks of the characters at different ages. 

For example, Rian morphs from the graphic t-shirt and circular, almost bowl-shaped hairstyle (achieved through a partial wig) of his jocular youth to the plain short-sleeved shirt and a crisp side parting of his corporate adult life. How the change is achieved, especially the hairstyle, in such a short time is no mean feat. 

Set and lighting design by Petrina Dawn Tan, in collaboration with lighting co-designer Tan Zi Feng, creates the feel of a K-pop music video. 

The set comprises three rolling L-shaped platforms in pastel colours that make up the dining, living room, and bedroom of the house that Adam and Arissa live in. There are light strips that run across walls of the platforms that form what looks like a sunrise or sunset. In certain scene changes, the light strips light up gradually, as if ushering in the entrance of a singer in a pop concert. There are also laser-light effects that demarcate the stage for scenes in other settings. 

The juxtaposition of the whimsical set and laser-like effects against the struggles of the teenagers places the latter in a liminal space—there is tension between the demands of reality and the comfort of K-pop fandom, make-believe, and dreams. 

Seeing the teenagers in the theatre taking countless selfies and hand swiping to APT. by Rosé and Bruno Mars, it is easy to dismiss them as disruptive and irrational.

But be it going to BTS’s Magic Shop or retreating to nostalgic reverie; a quest to the boss level or life’s odyssey—perhaps it is about embracing these polarities and truly listening to each other so that life need not be on hard mode all the time.  

Further Reading

Programme booklet for Hard Mode

“Checkpoint Theatre’s Hard Mode takes Gen Zers and Gen Alphas on their own terms” by Clement Yong, The Straits Times Life!

Other Reviews

“Theatre review: Hard Mode gives youth and its obsessions full, unprejudiced treatment” by Clement Yong, The Straits Times Life! (Review is behind a paywall. Read the partial transcript here.)

“Review: Wong Yong En on Hard Mode by Faith Ng (Checkpoint Theatre)” by Wong Yong En, Critics Circle Blog

“[Theatre Show Review] Finally, a realistic depiction of Singapore’s family units in ‘Hard Mode’, a play about Gen Alpha” by Marcus Goh