a critic to The Bee by JC

 Revenge and the Unconscious

—A Psychoanalytic Criticism of The Bee

Introduction

Modern theatre often explores what happens when people face extreme situations. Loh Kok Man’s The Bee is one such play. It tells the story of a man, Iizuka, who loses control after his family is kidnapped. At first, he is just a normal person, but he slowly turns into someone violent and dangerous. The play is not only about revenge — it also shows how a person’s mind can break down under pressure.

In this essay, I use Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory to understand the play. I focus on three main ideas: the Id, Ego, and Superego, the idea of trauma and repetition, and how the unconscious mind appears on stage. I will look at three parts of the play: the problems in the story, the actor’s performance and the director’s choices, and the artistic style of the play. I will explain my ideas in four steps: description, analysis, interpretation, and judgment.

1. Description

The play begins when Iizuka’s wife and child are taken by a criminal. He goes to the police, but they do not help. Feeling desperate and helpless, he takes action by himself. He kidnaps the criminal’s family, hoping to get his own family back. But things go out of control. He becomes more and more violent and cruel. In the end, he becomes as bad as the criminal who hurt him.

The actor who plays Iizuka uses body movement to show his change. At the start, he is stiff and quiet. Later, he becomes loud, fast, and angry. His face and voice also change a lot. The director uses lights and sounds to show his feelings. Red lights appear when Iizuka gets angry. There is a ticking sound like a clock, which makes the audience feel nervous. A honeycomb pattern is shown on stage, which looks like a trap or a cage. It shows that Iizuka is trapped in his own mind.l

The set is very simple. There are not many props. The stage uses lights, video, and sound to tell the story. This helps the audience focus on Iizuka’s emotions and mental state.

2. Analysis

Freud said that the mind has three parts: Id, Ego, and Superego.

• The Id is the part that wants things — like anger, revenge, and pleasure. Iizuka’s violent actions come from his Id. When the police do not help, his anger explodes. He starts hurting others to feel better.
  
  
• The Ego tries to balance the Id and the real world. At first, Iizuka tries to be calm. He talks to the police and looks for a legal solution. But when that fails, the Ego loses power, and the Id takes control.
  
  
• The Superego is the part of the mind that tells us what is right or wrong. Iizuka feels guilty at first, but later he stops caring. He becomes colder and more dangerous. His Superego becomes silent.
  
  

Iizuka also shows repetition compulsion — a term Freud used for when people repeat their trauma again and again. Iizuka was hurt by violence, and now he repeats the same violence to others. This is his way of trying to feel powerful again, but it only causes more pain.

3. Interpretation

The play shows us that violence does not just come from outside. It also lives inside us. Iizuka does not become violent suddenly. His dark emotions were always there, hidden under control. When the world around him breaks down, so does his control. He lets the unconscious part of himself take over.

The red lights, the honeycomb, and the ticking sound are not just decorations. They show what is happening inside Iizuka’s mind. The honeycomb is like his thoughts — full of rules, pressure, and traps. The red lights show his anger and desire. The ticking sound shows time running out, or his fear of losing everything.

The play also shows a bigger idea: when systems like the police or justice fail, people might return to their animal instincts. Iizuka wants justice, but what he creates is only more violence. His story is not just personal — it is also about society.

4. Judgment

(1) Story problems

The story is strong, but Iizuka’s change from good to evil happens very quickly. The play does not give enough time to show his love for his family. So when he starts hurting others, the audience may not fully understand his pain. The emotional journey feels a bit rushed.

(2) Acting and directing

The director uses strong symbols and stage effects, which help show Iizuka’s emotions. The red lights and honeycomb patterns are powerful. But sometimes, the symbols are too clear and repeated too much. The play shows emotions, but does not always give us space to feel them slowly. Also, the actor’s emotions are very big — this is good for impact, but sometimes feels acted, not lived.

The actor breaks the fourth wall and speaks to the audience. This is interesting, but can feel too direct. It takes us out of the story and makes the play feel more like a warning than a journey.

(3) Artistic style

The play uses strong symbols: light, sound, color, shape. These tools help us see Iizuka’s inner world. But Freud said the unconscious is not clear — it is mixed, vague, and confusing. The stage design is beautiful but sometimes too clear, not strange or dream-like enough. More mystery would help show the feeling of the unconscious mind better.

Conclusion

Loh Kok Man’s The Bee is a brave and powerful play. It shows how a normal person can fall into darkness when life becomes too hard. Using Freud’s theory, we see how Iizuka’s mind slowly breaks down — first the Ego fails, then the Superego disappears, and finally the Id takes control.

The play uses clear symbols and strong acting to tell this story. Still, it could show more of Iizuka’s feelings, memories, and inner conflicts to make the journey feel deeper. Even so, The Bee asks hard questions: What would you do if no one helped you? When rules fail, can you still stay human?

In the end, the play is not just about one man’s revenge. It is about what we all hide inside — and what happens when we let it out.