By Rachel G. //
This review may contain spoilers.
The Monster in the Mirror is a local musical staged by Bitesized Theatre Productions. It follows Jane as she tries to settle into her new Secondary 4 class. However, her attempts to make friends with members of the popular clique backfire as they ridicule her and cyberbully her on social media. Not only is she bullied for liking anime and manga, she is also bullied for her mother’s occupation as a Kopitiam beer auntie.
From constantly getting scolded at home and having no friends in school, the voice that critiques Jane’s each and every move gets louder as the days go by. One day, she receives a magic mirror from the Fairy God Delivery Beng (essentially, a fairy godmother in the form of a food delivery rider) and the self-critical voice becomes its own separate entity whom she dubs ‘Monster’.
I enjoyed the way the musical subverted expectations. Though it was clearly a production targeted towards families, it did not have the usual story of the protagonist fighting the Monster and ultimately prevailing. As a physical manifestation of her negative thoughts, the Monster is largely portrayed as harmless – all it really wants to do is to draw and be Jane’s true self. At one point, it even comes to Jane’s aid when the popular kids are accusing Jane of being a weird stalker online, a situation where Jane manages to earn the favour of the internet by letting people relate to her feelings of loneliness.
The Monster only gets upset when Jane becomes socially accepted for the persona she’s made for herself on social media and tries to become one of the popular kids. Though Jane initially tries to fight the Monster (i.e her insecurities), she comes to internalise that the Monster will always be a part of her. She’s not meant to fight her negative thoughts, but to acknowledge that they will always be there and that she needs to accept them for what they are – just thoughts. Befriending the Monster allows her to finally reconcile with who she truly is.
This was an apt message that resonated with me as it was a journey of acceptance I had to go through myself during therapy. As a perfectionist who was constantly plagued by recurring thoughts of “not being good enough”, my initial response was to bury my emotions. I eventually learnt that even though negative feelings like anger and sadness don’t feel good and may be difficult to deal with, they’re indications that you need to take better care of yourself.
Another aspect I enjoyed was how the musical gave other characters ‘monsters’ of their own in a music sequence towards the end. This sequence allowed Jane to understand that the popular kids who bullied her were facing their own monsters. It also allowed Jane to empathise with her mother, who just wanted to look out for Jane and make sure she had the potential to get a good job in future. Oftentimes, it’s difficult to empathise with others, especially when we’re so wrapped up in our own struggles. While facing inner demons does not excuse lashing out at others, it gave these characters depth and helped the audience understand their actions, even if they were wrong.
Overall, the musical felt relevant and easy to understand from the perspective of a child. I felt that it was good that a family-friendly musical managed to touch on deeper themes like mental health without getting too dark. Furthermore, desiring to fit in is a struggle faced by many, especially on the first day in a new environment whether it be primary school, university or a new workplace. Hopefully, there will be more platforms to expose kids to such themes so that they will be better able to treat themselves and others with kindness.
Rachel is a 19-year-old who is deeply passionate about mental health advocacy. Besides writing, she dabbles in photography and enjoys curling up in bed with a book.
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Image Credit: Author’s own