Last night marked the opening of The Necessary Stage‘s production of ‘Singapore’ that had been brought back due to an overwhelming success during last year’s Singapore Arts Festival when it was first commissioned. Directed by Artistic Director, Alvin Tan, last night’s production clearly shows why ‘Singapore’ has been such a success.
Just from the title alone, it has hard to tell what ‘Singapore’ is all about. With such a broad title like this, it seems that the interpretation for the production can just go about anywhere. So TNS has decided to seperate the narration into 3 different acts. Not following a specific storyline, the 3 acts by 2 different ‘companies’ brings the audience diverse views and opinions of the Singapore we live in today.
Contrary to what you might think, this production is a ball of laughter and deceitfully truthful.
The first act showcases a dramatized history of the founding of Singapore, and some lesser known characters that might have been left out of your history books. It introduces the unusual role of the Malay mistress of Sir William Farquhar, and Sophia Raffles. The second is a sketch of a sorts, where a group of representatives from various backgrounds come together to discuss the relevance of the pledge, and pertinent issues with regards to differences, especially foreigners. The third and final act is 20 minutes of improvisation by the entire cast, utilizing all the characters presented in the previous acts interacting with each other in various times and locations.
Though well-structured, it is hard to see which direction ‘Singapore’ is headed. Because of the lack of fluid narration, the play is almost like a bubbling cauldron of ideas and opinions that filters in and out. This is not necessarily a bad thing because this confusion of thoughts is adequately presented by a stellar cast. The first act moved in pace that may be hard to catch but through the energy of the cast, scenes melded in seamlessly into a slightly inaccurate account of the history of Singapore that brought on the guffaws. Add in a dramatic affair between Farquhar and his mistress, and you have the perfect recipe for a comedy.
However, the second moves into much steadier ground. Introducing a new theatre company (TNS: ‘The New Singaporeans’), the act showcases a range of sometimes one-sided characters such as a Filipino maid. The characters may have brought on confusion but the topics that were discussed were close to heart and very applicable in today’s society. Each character conformed to a stereotype and lashed out at the others, bringing up issues such as whether foreigners can truly consider themselves a part of Singapore, blatant racism, and questioned even the Singapore pledge and its relevance today.
If the objective of the second act of ‘Singapore’ was to make the audience uncomfortable in their seats, then they did their job. The act brought up sensitive issues and unspoken issues and thoughts that would otherwise never make it to mainstream media. So kudos to ‘Singapore’ for delivering the gristly truth to our eyes.
‘Singapore’ really showed why it was the sold-out play that it was last year at the Singapore Arts Festival. Highlighting some of the thoughts that might have otherwise never seen the light of day, the issues often would reflect the everyday Singaporean’s perspective. But even while its touchy issues, the production was a whole lot of fun with its comedy and tongue-in-cheek jibes. Respectably, not many productions deal with the reality of issues and ‘Singapore’ does a good job of highlighting them rather than forcing answers and solutions. If anything, you will walk out of the theatre with more than one thing on your mind. And that is what ‘Singapore’ aims to do.
The Necessary Stage’s ‘Singapore‘ will run at the Esplanade Theatre Studio from 15 February to 19 February 2012. Ticket sales start from $19 and are available now through SISTIC’s hotline at 6348 5555, via the SISTIC website at www.sistic.com, at all SISTIC authorised agents islandwide & iNETS Mobile. For further details on discounts or the entire lineup for festival, please log on to www.singaporefringe.com
Image Credits: The Necessary Stage
