[Review] Chestnuts: Sibeh Strange In The Multiverse – Laugh, Cry and Be Merry with the Chestnuts Crew

Singapore’s longest-running live parody sketch show, Chestnuts, is back after 7 years and 1 pandemic.

The last time, Singapore was turning 50. 

Now, after two years of isolation and safe distancing, Chestnuts is back with a vengeance, with lots of spoofing to catch up with.

The world has changed so much since 2015 – TV and cinema made way for streaming platforms, Asians are huge in Hollywood, shopping went totally online, meetings are remote and everyone wants to be non-fungible. All these and more were all cannon fodder for the Chestnuts team to spoof their way through.

From Doctor Strange to Michelle Yeoh, Black Panther 2 to Squid Game, Ah Girls Go Army to NDP,  LKY The Musical to NFT and FTX – Chestnuts skewered them all with their unique crossover parody style. 

You will laugh, cry and leave the theatre thoroughly entertained after a night with Chestnuts.

My personal favourite was a segment featuring a parody of Singapore’s self-proclaimed “national treasure” busker, Jeff Ng, and other local unsavoury characters. The jokes left me in stitches and on the edge of my seat.

The funny stuff aside, I was particularly impressed by Chestnuts’ soulful rendition of Queens’ Bohemian Rhapsody, transformed into a parody song to reminiscence the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth and the ascendant of the perpetual King in waiting, Prince Charles and all the assorted scandal around him and his family.

I was also deeply moved by a segment that paid tribute to the late founding Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Yes, we now miss him when he is gone. Yes, we will never know how he would have handled the Oxley house saga or the Covid-19 lockdown differently from what we have experienced. LKY is gone.

For the funny stuff, the Netflix, TV and movie parodies of Disney being overly woke and all the confusing multiverse stories in trend right now being too confusing, I get all of them and enjoyed the parodies.

There is a large portion of the show that focused on making fun of other theatre shows and productions which I did not get for about 50% of it all, probably because I am not someone deep in the local theatre scene.

Nonetheless, I will still rate this edition of Chestnuts a solid four stars out of five for pure entertainment value. Go catch it with your friends and family during this festive period if you are looking for some joy and cheers.

The comeback show features Chestnuts veterans, Jonathan Lim and Judy Ngo, with new spoofers Nelson Chia, Audrey Luo and Tim Wan; with music by Elaine Chan and produced by Annie Pek.

Chestnuts – Sibeh Strange in the Multiverse

25 November – 11 December 2022
Venue: The Drama Centre, NLB
Ticket price: S$50 to S$88 each

Tickets are available via SISTIC