The Mongol Khan is fantastic... but depends on your seating.
In a Shakespearean telling of fictional Archug Khan, the King of the Hunnus, this play comprises of a colourful and vibrant performances about going against the mandate of heaven. Born days apart to the khan's estranged wife and the other to his consort. Archug's chancellor, Egereg, swaps the babies so his own son will become Khan.
There's a scale and pomp of The Mongol Khan that really reflect the opulence of the fictional Archug Khan. From the costumes to the music, the grandiosity is awesome. In its opening number, when the birth of the khan's baby sons are being celebrated, the stage burst into a dance of colours. There's a joy and it was so infectious that I almost want to burst out of my seat and join them in the choreography. Speaking of which...
You can see that a lot of inventiveness in the choreography. The secondary cast performing the bulk of the dance adds to the scene, sometimes acting as subtext or as the characters' inner thoughts. In one scene, the dancers acted as the khan's (played by Erdenebileg Ganbold) intent as they displayed something like a "before-image" of him drawing his sword on his chancellor, Egereg (Bold-Erdene Sugar) without the khan having to do so.
The show has two versions: one with an English-speaking cast and the other, with a Mongolian-speaking one. We sat for the screening in Mongolian and even though I do not understand a lick of it, the subtitles (or is it surtitles? Do drop us a note about this) screened at the sides and top of the stage helped. The dialogue was poetic and colours the scenes.
The cast is exceptional. The khan, the chancellor... even Archir, the "crowned" prince (Dorjsuren Shadav) snarls and brings such a vivid portrayal of a man who had everything and yet lack moral guidance. But the real standout is Uranchimeg Urtnasan, who plays Tsetser, the Queen. Her role required her to switch among emotions, from lust for the chancellor to fear for the son to regret for having played a part in the scheme.
Like, we mentioned, we sat in for the Mongolian-speaking performance and while you've the subtitles(?), it proved to be a double-edged sword. This is fine if you're seated at the back of the room, where you can get a perspective of the stage and the screens without turning your head. But at the cost of sounding like a first world problem, we got a little discombobulated when we are seated nearer to the stage as we have to glance to the screens for the dialogue and switch our attention to the front, then back again. It started to get straining.
Look out for the Shaman played with such aplomb by Khashkhuu Khatankhuyag. He comes in hot, like the trickster, who is both a part and apart from the narrative.
The Mongol Khan is showing at the Sands Theatre and runs until 3 November
