Book in at your own time

Sun, 21 Jun 2009
3 min read
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NOTE: I am posting this story here for future reference. It was originally published on the ChannelNewsAsia website at this link.

Many thanks go to The WayBack Machine for archiving a copy of the webpage here.

Book in at your own time
By Serene Ong, channelnewsasia.com | Posted: 20 June 2009 0114 hrs

SINGAPORE: How many productions can boast a 100 per cent sell-out run these days? I know of one and it’s reprising its wildly successful staging in July with a new and improved version.

W!ld Rice’s Own Time Own Target (OTOT) was presented as a triple bill during last year’s OCBC Singapore Theatre Festival.

Heartened by the massive response to the National Service themed comedy-musical, the team behind the production is tightening up scripts, adding more scenes and fleshing out characters for this year’s double bill – Laremy Lee’s “Full Tank” and Julian Wong’s “Botak Boys”.

In fact, the musical “Botak Boys” is actually undergoing its third revision. It was first performed as “Singapore Boys” in the Five Foot Broadway Mini Musicals in June last year and caught the attention of local audiences.

Asked why the army genre seems to be a perennial favourite among Singaporeans, director Jonathan Lim, 35, said: “A lot of it is familiarity – you always feel warmer towards a theatre piece when it deals with something that you know… the connection is there.

“These are plays that are important to us because they really do capture something which is under-written in Singapore. No one talks about it half as much as they should, considering that practically everyone has to deal with NS, either by going through it or by having to lose family members or friends to it.

“The good thing about OTOT is that it looks straight into the Singaporean heart. It’s not just about army, there are so many characters in it – journalists, shopkeepers, uncles in the street… just faces in Singapore.”

And with the recent developments on the homeground, such as the overdue arrest of Jemaah Islamiyah leader Mas Selamat Kastari in Malaysia, those who caught “Full Tank” the first time round can certainly expect some hefty reworking of script by playwright Lee.

“There’s a lot of contextual relevance now. We’re lucky that the news (about Mas Selamat) came out the way it came out, at this time – there’s definitely more material to update!” the talented 26-year-old quipped.

Despite the lightheartedness of it all, the production touches on some serious topics and hopes to evoke discussion and critical thinking.

“In ‘Full Tank’, we discuss issues like bureaucracy and civil service – anyone can relate to that. Gender doesn’t play a part and the military theme is just a vehicle,” said Lee. “Theatre provides people with a space to talk about issues that SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) is not willing to talk about in the open.”

Lim added: “When we talked to MINDEF before the festival last year, one of the things they were quite keen about is that these plays would help to open up discussion, which may eventually lead to more suggestions, more changes.”

“All of us want to see a better system,” Lee qualified. “It’s not to criticise; it’s just that this is also something that belongs to us and we want to talk about it too.”

Catch Own Time Own Target at the Drama Centre Theatre, from July 8 to 25. Tickets are available at SISTIC.

What reviews should be.

Mon, 25 May 2009
3 min read
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Well, I’ve been thinking about this for a while – since August 2008 to be precise, after the reviews for OTOT came out. So I guess now is as good a time as any to talk about it.

To contextualise things slightly: the general opinion of Something Old hasn’t been very positive. From a personal standpoint, I agree wholeheartedly – while the premise of the play was intriguing, the way I handled the dialogue, drama and action left much to be desired.

So I’m cool with it if reviews say the play was poorly written. For one, everyone is entitled to their opinion; for another, I am my worst critic, in more ways than one: I am self-aware enough to recognise when something did not work. In the case of Something Old, it worked, but it could’ve worked better if I hadn’t been so heavy-handed with the writing.

But back to the point about reviews. What I want to question is: what is the relevance and value of a review, if the review merely says a particular piece of art was bad? (Sidenote: Students might want to approach this from the classroom perspective e.g. when you say a teacher can’t teach well.)

I think reviews – regardless of what is being reviewed – should have some relevance and value. One might argue that a review’s relevance and value is in informing the general public if a production is worth watching or a book is worth buying, etc. That makes sense: people neither want to waste their money on bad theatre nor do they want to waste money on bad books, or bad education, and so on.

But on the other hand, where is the sustainability in that? With some hindsight any artist worth her salt will recognise when a piece of art is shite. Being told that the art is shite doesn’t make the art any better, but only serves to make the artist feel crappy too. Save the stereotype of the artist as having a sensitive soul, most people are human, and if I may take this opportunity to add: not kind words from friends cut deeper than stones from strangers do.

So: here’s The Laremy Challenge (cheh…). For anyone who’s reading this – bloggers, journos, winos, blogger-journos, journo-winos and the like – I’d like you to keep the idea of sustainability in mind when you next write a review about something.

If that something sucked – be frank. Say it sucked. But say it in a sustainable fashion. Say it sucked nicely and then say how it sucked, and what could’ve been done to stop it from sucking so much e.g. if the piece had been written this way, or if it had been painted that way, etc.

I think if you try this, you might find your review still sells. People will want to read you so long as you write well, and any writer worth her salt will know how well s/he writes after a bit of hindsight.

But what’s more important is that the art you create is going to help someone else become a better artist. At the very least, you might realise that creating good art, in all senses of the adjective, isn’t so easy after all.