![\"Gateway](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/f3d86fc2cb292567f5bf168b14a88716991ce4dc8a2b9054f4e09c0d3b1bb020.webp\")
<\/p>\nThe Parting Glass
\nGateway Arts
\nSept 3, 8pm
\nThe Blackbird<\/p>\n
Jim has an archetypal machismo about him. He has inherited his father\u2019s penchant for the earnest dad joke, is prone to peacocking in front of a love interest and has the emotional expressiveness of a beer can. Ask about his lowest moment, and he would probably narrate the football game where his team lost a penalty shoot-out.<\/p>\n
But beneath the trappings of modern masculinity, Jim cannot find the language to express his pain and loneliness. In Gateway Arts\u2019 The Parting Glass, written by Chris O\u2019Connor and directed by Samantha Scott-Blackhall, the men\u2019s mental health chamber drama is taken out of the solemnity of the black box or theatre and well massaged into a site-specific play.<\/p>\n
Scott-Blackhall\u2019s choice to set the play at live music bar The Blackbird is an inspired choice. After all, a bar is the perfect setting to stage the contradictions of masculinity \u2013 one of modern life\u2019s few public places where men are allowed to express their emotions, even if only over 90 minutes of ball kicking. Jim, cycling through Heinekens and Tigers, does not consider himself an alcoholic \u2013 when he compares himself to what he has, as a child, seen his father down in this bar.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gateway Arts’ two hander The Parting Glass at live music bar The Blackbird features Juliana Kassim Chan (left) and Rishi Vadrevu.<\/p>\n
PHOTO: GATEWAY ARTS<\/p>\n
Played with verve and natural charm by young actor Rishi Vadrevu, Jim can command the bar like a seasoned stand-up comedian but also morph into a thumb-twiddling young adult finally able to confide in a crowd of friends. Strutting convincingly across the bar and stage, one gets the sense that Jim is a regular at the bar.<\/p>\n
Jim is clearly the show\u2019s star, but the two-hander is rounded off by Juliana Kassim Chan \u2013 Jim\u2019s love interest whose character can feel underwritten, mostly serving Jim\u2019s narrative. She feels a bit of an outsider at the bar \u2013 clearly not as seasoned a commander of the bar as Jim \u2013 but organises a 30th birthday party for Jim at his old hangout. Attendees of the show are the party guests, but there is none of the trite interactive gimmicks of dinner theatre or \u2013 this may come to a relief to the anti-social in the house \u2013 much real interaction with the audience at all.<\/p>\n
Theatremaker Krish Natarajan has splendidly localised O\u2019Connor\u2019s script, making Jim boogie along to Tamil tunes and Scottish drinking songs. There is a sly wink to the possible closure of the bar as Gillman Barracks, where The Blackbird is located, is slated for redevelopment. Convincingly detailed with Singaporean-isms, it gives Jim\u2019s character a warmth that audiences can immediately relate to.<\/p>\n
Petrina Dawn Tan\u2019s set design involves a lovely, understated tree structure in the middle of the room, but it is unfortunately underutilised though the show and might cause restricted views at the back of the room.<\/p>\n
![\"Jim](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/2c669c7e483afd836b22b0695167a9547c878faef6843e2918acfde6644049a7.webp\")
<\/p>\n
Jim is clearly the show\u2019s star, but the two-hander is rounded off by Juliana Kassim Chan \u2013 Jim\u2019s love interest whose character can feel underwritten, mostly serving Jim\u2019s narrative.<\/p>\n
PHOTO: GATEWAY ARTS<\/p>\n
It is best to come early for dinner before the show begins at 8pm \u2013 ticket prices do not include food or beverage, and food and drinks can only be served before the show or after. But come early also to choose the best seats \u2013 which are at the front row or on the side of stage right, where much of the off-stage action happens. The bar stools are not easy to tolerate for 75 minutes of sitting still, so pick the cushioned seats if possible.<\/p>\n
Book It\/The Parting Glass<\/p>\n