Three friends of three different races decide to combine Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Deepavali all into one festival and celebrate them all together.
"We will call it New Raya Deepavali! Or Hari Chinese Deepavali! Or Deepavali Raya Year!"
First they go through the process of sharing with each other their customs and then they decide to start visiting each other's families to share in their customs.
As they bring their friends to their homes, they soon discover what their culture's have in common but also realise the divides that have been built up between the different races over time. They discover their parents' own racial and cultural prejudice and they even manage to discover some of its roots, including Singapore's racial riots, and the Japanese occupation.
Brought back by demand this play first toured Singapore schools in 2001, 'What's The Difference?' has proven to be a wonderful way to open discussion about racial and cultural harmony as it explores difficult questions through the innocence and honesty of a child's eyes. The play is filled with colourful and endearing characters and stories inspired by real life historical accounts of Singapore's history.
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