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Essays/Writings

Creating High Culture in the Globalized "Cultural Dessert" of Singapore

Published in The Drama Review 47, no. 4. 

The following is an extract from the essay/writing.The full version can be purchased online here.


Singapore, with a population of 3.2 millions (4 millions, with all foreigners) is a distinct society which perhaps more than other postcolonial societies, in its desire to match up the advanced West, forsook not only many of the political dimensions of democratic life but also its cultural dimensions, taken in both the high-cultural and “way-of-life” senses. An industrial and commercial understanding of culture was left, and manufacturing and productive institutions became the collective basis of social life. And yet, despite this rather dour and puritanical modernity, experimental theater and visual art started to flourish in the 1980s.


Project Serial Number: AA200301

Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to reproduce the full essay/writing online. Please contact the resource owner directly for permissions if reproduction rights do not belong to The Necessary Stage Ltd. Otherwise, kindly contact us for access to the full resource. Do note that archival access and reproduction charges may apply.
2003
 

Productions

Hamlet

This classic dramatic text is adapted to give meaningful access and relevance to our youth, whilst still engaging the key characters and key issues of family conflict, betrayal, madness and suicide. This high energy contemporary adaptation promises to be educational and entertaining for all students, no matter how familiar or unfamiliar they are with the Bard or Hamlet.
2002
 -
Singapore
 

Staging

Hamlet

This classic dramatic text is adapted to give meaningful access and relevance to our youth, whilst still engaging the key characters and key issues of family conflict, betrayal, madness and suicide. This high energy contemporary adaptation promises to be educational and entertaining for all students, no matter how familiar or unfamiliar they are with the Bard or Hamlet.
2002
 -
Singapore
 

Productions

Birds and Bees… Please!

Increasingly, our Youth are surrounded by sexual images, facts and distortions, news stories and sexual humour, as well as having ready to access to sexual information on the internet, not to mention chat rooms and chat lines where they can experiment with sexual interaction in the privacy of their home. But there is still little opportunity for them to make sense of it, even whilst trying to come to terms with their own physical, hormonal and emotional changes and identity.

Birds and Bees...Please? Acknowledges teenagers' interest, frustration, confusion and embarrassment over the subject of sex. It encourages students not to clamp up in shame and suppression over sexual matters, nor to let their hormones, their peers or the media dictate their choices, but rather actively and responsibly learn about sex without jumping into it impulsively.
2002
 -
Singapore
 

Staging

Birds and Bees… Please!

Increasingly, our Youth are surrounded by sexual images, facts and distortions, news stories and sexual humour, as well as having ready to access to sexual information on the internet, not to mention chat rooms and chat lines where they can experiment with sexual interaction in the privacy of their home. But there is still little opportunity for them to make sense of it, even whilst trying to come to terms with their own physical, hormonal and emotional changes and identity.

Birds and Bees...Please? Acknowledges teenagers' interest, frustration, confusion and embarrassment over the subject of sex. It encourages students not to clamp up in shame and suppression over sexual matters, nor to let their hormones, their peers or the media dictate their choices, but rather actively and responsibly learn about sex without jumping into it impulsively.
2002
 -
Singapore
 

Workshops

Theatre for Youth and Community 2003

In September 1992, Alvin Tan, Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage, established the Theatre For Youth Branch. The Branch was re-named Theatre for Youth and Community in 2002, our 10th anniversary year.

The aims of our Youth Drama programmes are to:


expose young people to theatre;
create a space for artistic expression by and for young people;
cultivate the aesthetic sensibilities of young people; and
explore themes and issues relevant to young people in Singapore


We believe that theatre must grow out of the community and therefore pay close attention to issues that concern young people and educators. Our programmes develop from research, careful planning and consultation. The concern that students should benefit fully has led us to develop programmes that are relevant to the needs, and are issues faced by students, involve theoretical and hands-on learning; and cultivate students' life-skills and contribute towards their personal development.

We also believe strongly in, and welcome, partnerships with other sectors in society to achieve holistic outcomes for our programmes. The school's curriculum and directions in education are also taken into consideration when planning our programmes.

We believe strongly that Theatre is not meant to be simply a high-brow affair for the wealthy and intellectual. It is a language that each of us have the right to learn and speak, in order to find release, and to make meaning of our world.
2002
 

Productions

WWW

Stop the Press. She is not Wonder Woman. She is only a Thai hooker. She can't save the world. All hell is breaking loose. The world is on the brink of World War III. The world needs superheroes. An american boy is abducted. An ex-beggar holds him hostage. His parents demand justice, compensation and salvation. But the superheroes in Thailand are not Clark Kents, Bruce Waynes or Diana Princes. They are gigolos, hookers and drags. Who will save the boy? Who will save his parents? Who will save the Supermen, Batmen and Wonder Women? Who is saving who?
2002
 -
Singapore
 

Staging

WWW

Stop the Press. She is not Wonder Woman. She is only a Thai hooker. She can't save the world. All hell is breaking loose. The world is on the brink of World War III. The world needs superheroes. An american boy is abducted. An ex-beggar holds him hostage. His parents demand justice, compensation and salvation. But the superheroes in Thailand are not Clark Kents, Bruce Waynes or Diana Princes. They are gigolos, hookers and drags. Who will save the boy? Who will save his parents? Who will save the Supermen, Batmen and Wonder Women? Who is saving who?
2002
 -
Singapore
 

Productions

untitled cow number one

untitled cow number one is about the journey of a widowed cow. The play, which is divided into 12 sections and cover 12 days of mourning, is strongly influenced by Hindu and Buddhist texts, images and myths. References are made to Krishna and Shiva, excerpts from the Dhammapada - The Sayings of Buddha - are read; and rituals are performed in this 30-minute play. The monodrama also features viewpoints of other characters. A friend tries to get the cow to move away from her husband's rotting body; the cow's child cires because of mother's lack of attention. In the end, the cow has an outburst, where she accuses the gods and at the same time begs them for help and direction. and with her final lines, another quotation from the Dhammapada, she finally moves on: "I want nothing from this world. And nothing from the next. I am free".
2002
 -
South Korea
 

Productions

untitled women number one

In untitled women number one, two women who are absolutely still throughout the play, talk about their relationships, their past and future. A highl exploratory play, the text is very opaque - the audience is given snatches of conversations/dialogue with long moments of silence in between. The dialogue makes no obvious reference to the two women's relationship. The audience is left to decide whether the actors are playing a range of characters, or just one character; whether time is moving forwards or backwards. The actors go through a rollercoaster of emotions - one minute they could be shouting and in pain, and the next they are serene, and the very next they are crying. Yet, throughout, they do not move at all. The text makes references to gender, quoting stories about women and talking about sexuality, but ultimately the play transcends its very title in its portrayal of pain, death and interdependence.
2002
 -
South Korea
 

Staging

The Untitled Series

2002
 -
South Korea
 

Productions

Close—in My Face

Close—In My Face is a communal collage of what has been shared between a community of people over a six-month period. An array of stories, impressions and thoughts has been arranged to allow the audience to make their own links, imaginings, questions and reflections. Prevalent issues include privacy, intimacy, claustrophobia, loneliness, neighbourly relations, animals, social prejudice and stereotyping of various sorts.
2002
 -
Singapore
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