Stratford Festival review: The Tao of the World brings restoration comedy into modern Singapore

From left, Michael Man as Dr. Wilson Wong, Karthik Kadam as Devan Pillay and Agnes Tong as Arabella Flynn, The Tao of the World, Stratford Festival 2026.

By: Galen Simmons

Complete with stylishly elegant costumes and a set that brings audiences into the heart of the daily lives of the Singaporean elite during the COVID-19 pandemic, playwright and director Jovanni Sy presents his modern take on restoration comedy with his production of The Tao of the World for the Stratford Festival’s 2026 season.

Referring to a period after King Charles II took the throne and ended an 18-year puritanical ban on theatrical performances in the late 17th century, restoration comedy tends to satirize the lives of the wealthy elite, portraying them as obsessed with fashion, gossip and romance. This style of play also rejects the strict moral rules of the puritans with the inclusion of lewd jokes and loose social behaviour.

While Sy certainly mirrors restoration comedy in The Tao of the World, especially at the beginning, he peels back that surface layer of romantic scheming and self-obsession to reveal a strong emotional core and social commentary on what restoration means, not just to the wealthy, but to those who serve them as well.

Setting this play during the pandemic was a stroke of genius as it highlights the disparity between the better world we all dreamed would emerge on the other side and what the world actually was – those with power and privilege waited out the virus in relative comfort and safety while the working class risked their lives to provide for them.

Arabella Flynn (Agnes Tong), a wealthy heiress and the play’s chief narrator who schemes to steal renowned cricketer, model and movie star Edward Lim (Angus Yam) from her sex-starved cousin, Millicent Tan (Heidi Sy Damayo), learns this lesson firsthand as her scheming brings her face to face with that socio-economic inequity.

Devan Pillay (Karthik Kadam), Arabella’s childhood best friend and the son of her exacting, ultra-wealthy mother, Lady Helena Yu’s (Manami Hara) maid and servants Kamila (Nadine Villasin) and Toto (Nestor Lozano Jr.) show the young heiress that while she and her wealthy friends are enjoying weekly spa visits and lavish parties, the people who make those luxuries reality are risking illness and even death.

And somehow, while the play makes an important statement about what “returning to normal” actually means for those without privilege, it manages to keep the laughs coming.

And that comedy keeps the audience engaged throughout, from Hara’s hilariously demanding performance as Lady Helena to Michael Man’s Dr. Wilson Wong, who stops hiding his true self after falling head over heels in lust with Devan, a man already engaged to Edward Lim’s best friend, Jackson Lee (Derek Kwan). Adding to the chaos is Eleanor Marwood (Sara-Jeanne Hosie), Lady Helena’s lackey, who hatches a dastardly plot to steal her business with the help of her secret beau, Trevor Flynn – the husband Arabella would rather forget.

Set in a country – and a time not so long ago – where the simple act of being gay is illegal, this play gives theatregoers so many reasons to see it unfold, not the least of which is the fact many of the actors perform beautiful song-and-dance numbers almost entirely in Mandarin Chinese. Though I couldn’t understand the lyrics, the context from the story and beautifully performed music and dance was more than enough to integrate these musical interludes into the story without feeling out of place.

The Tao of the World runs at the Stratford Festival’s Tom Patterson Theatre until Sept. 26.