Singapore gay theatre
Encyclopedia
In the history of Singapore gay theatre, it was only in the second half of the 1980s that gay writers started to explore the hitherto taboo area of homosexuality in their works. The licencing authority, however, was not quite ready so that in 1988, 3 plays with gay themes were banned from being performed. These were Eleanor Wong
's "Jackson on a Jaunt", Chay Yew
's "As if He Hears" and Russell Heng's "Lest The Demons Get To Me". The first two plays were subsequently staged in 1989/1990 after negotiations with the authority. The third was staged in 1992 after Singapore's culture policy was liberalised by its new Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong
.
The following are some of the local theatre productions which have featured cross-dressing or LGBT
themes:
male opera
star’s deceptive seduction of an unsuspecting French
male diplomat
in China
. It was staged during the 1990 Singapore International Arts Festival in the wake of the proscription of 3 gay plays just 2 years earlier, probably to symbolise newly-appointed Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
's vision of a "kinder and gentler Singapore". It also marked the first instance of total nudity
in Singapore theatre. The impact was heightened by the local media which, habitually sensitised to the political climate, highlighted members of the political élite seated in the front row taking in the spectacle with cultured nonchalance.
plays is played by a man, akin to theatre in Shakespearean times. Nyonya women were not encouraged to perform in front of an audience.
The most popular male cross-dressing matriarch to have performed in these plays was GT Lye, whose baju panjangs were made by Aljunied Brothers at Arab Street
.
Kenny Chan is a comedic performer from Melaka who has also played the matriarch role and is known for what some consider rather crude stand-up comedy acts. Chan was most recently seen as Romeo in the TV12 series, "The Ways of the Matriarch".
Examples of Peranakan
plays which featured a male cross-dressing matriarch include:
bunsong anak ni marcuz
of plays performed at the Jubilee Hall
, Raffles Hotel
in April 2003. They were penned by acclaimed playwright and academic lawyer Eleanor Wong
and produced by W!LD RICE
, a professional theatre company founded by well-regarded Artistic Director Ivan Heng
.
The three plays of Invitation To treat spanned 20 years in the life of their protagonist, Ellen Toh, following her journey towards self-discovery and self-actualisation. She was a smart, ambitious and hardworking lesbian lawyer who married her best friend in a 'marriage of convenience' that presented her with the best of both worlds– a socially respectable position, and a husband who accepted her sexual orientation.
The plays swept the audience along a unique and enjoyable journey, an Odyssey
of insights which recounted the story of one member of an invisible minority who struggled with her sexuality
and, over time, grew increasingly confident and self-aware, with more than a little help from her friends. Heng hoped that the LGBT
community would relate to the plays which included 'insider' jokes and references that could only be fully appreciated by the gay community, with scripts that were not dumbed down to accommodate a straight audience. Owing to its lesbian
theme, the producers experienced great difficulty in securing a corporate sponsor.
Mergers & accusations and Wills & secession ran as a double bill from 2 to 6 April 2003.
, generating a buzz that lasted well past its two sell-out seasons, both during the festival and its immediate rerun, when it played to an estimated audience of 20,000.
Many felt that Private Parts was popular playwright Michael Chiang
’s best play to date; definitely, it was his most politicised. The man who defined Singapore comedy with runaway hits like Army Daze
, Beauty World and Mixed Signals, surprised many with this pointed yet poignant piece of writing.
Pushing the envelope the way no other local production had ever done, Private Parts was a play many agree was ahead of its time. One gets involved with a talk-show host who soon finds out the true meaning of reality TV. One gets a glimpse of the brutality of media competition: how far would one go for higher ratings? Plus, for a nation of gawkers weaned on the night-time beauties of Bugis Street
back in the 60s, here was an up-close peek into that mysterious world of drag queen
s. What more could one want from theatre in the rigid, pre-RA days of Singapore?
Hype aside, Private Parts made news because it was able to engross even the most conservative of audiences with its bittersweet (and unexpectedly moving) story about 3 transsexuals trying to find their place in life. Way before Hollywood was fêted for daring to do the same by putting Terence Stamp
, Guy Pearce
and Hugo Weaving
in heels and makeup for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). Not to mention Patrick Swayze
, Wesley Snipes
and John Leguizamo
donning even bigger bouffants and bosoms in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything (1995).
The story: Briefly, a Star Search
winner fronts a current-affairs talk show to improve ratings. His life turns upside down when he ends up in a sex-change clinic with 3 transsexuals. After befriending them, he tries to get them on his show.
Private Parts proved to be such an audience favourite that it was revived in 1995 for another run, this time including a Mandarin version (which starred Edmund Chen
and the late comedian Hua Liang) as well!
And 12 years on, Michael Chiang
’s much-acclaimed play returned to the Singapore stage for a limited season, to wow new audiences, and hopefully bring back some of its old supporters. The new, updated production had its run at the Esplanade Theatre from 28 July to 1 August 2004.
as Nong Thoom. The famous former Muay Thai
(kickboxing
) champion who stunned the world with her gender
change invited the audience into her colourful world where strength meets beauty, fight meets dance and heart meets mind.
and performed by Elizabeth de Roza on 23 June 2005 at The Substation
Dance Studio.
. Written as a special dedication to Toy Factory's 15th anniversary and directed by award-winning director Goh Boon Teck, it recounted once upon 5,000 years ago when 5 ill-fated beauties were impeached for their tramped existence. Spirits unveiled 5 untold stories of Sai Jing Hua from the Qing dynasty, an infamous prostitute, Bao Si from the Zhou dynasty, the concubine who never smiled, Lu Hou from the Han dynasty, the revengeful empress, Ya Zuan Ji from the Tang dynasty, a poetic priestess and Ke Shi Ming from the Ming dynasty, the Great Madam, all of whom were despised and condemned by Chinese historians.
Goh collaborated with playwright Xu Sheng Liang (China
) and music composer Saidah Rastam (Malaysia) to reinterpret Chinese opera
and its heritage in a different ensemble. Together, they breathed contemporary life into traditional Chinese opera
whilst retaining its beauty.
It was crafted as a musical, infusing 5 different forms of Chinese opera, namely Yue, Jing, Li Yuan, Huang Mei and Yu, with contemporary funk. No traditional opera musical instruments or props were employed in this unconventional fusion. Instead, there were 4 actors, 5 martial artistes, 7 musicians, 1 saxophonist and 5 genres of opera in this creative mix.
Spirits advanced Chinese opera a step forward, creating a new theatre platform for the younger generation. Multimedia effects and high-tech neon swords replaced traditional props. An outrageous wardrobe dazzled and a fascinating mobile stage transported the audience to another world.
The constantly challenged notion of masculinity in Asia has unfortunately led to the near extinction of opera female impersonators. Toy Factory proudly featured 5 of these professional 'Nan Hua Dan' from Singapore and China, which made the musical drama all the more gripping.
Cleaning was an essential task that would bring these boys to the next phase of eternity.
The story was about love - love that seemed to be defined differently by different people, with different perspectives, resulting in different outcomes. Each boy had a love story to tell.
issues:
Eleanor Wong (playwright)
Eleanor Wong is a writer and playwright in Singapore. Her plays have been produced in Singapore and regionally. She is best known for "Invitation to Treat", her trilogy of plays centred around the experiences of the character Ellen Toh, a lesbian lawyer in Singapore...
's "Jackson on a Jaunt", Chay Yew
Chay Yew
Chay Yew is a playwright and stage director who was born in Singapore. As of 2007 he lives in New York City. As of July 2011, he becomes Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago.-Career:...
's "As if He Hears" and Russell Heng's "Lest The Demons Get To Me". The first two plays were subsequently staged in 1989/1990 after negotiations with the authority. The third was staged in 1992 after Singapore's culture policy was liberalised by its new Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...
.
The following are some of the local theatre productions which have featured cross-dressing or LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
themes:
M Butterfly
M Butterfly is an internationally acclaimed theatre piece by Chinese-American playwright David Hwang about a transvestiteTransvestism
Transvestism is the practice of cross-dressing, which is wearing clothing traditionally associated with the opposite sex. Transvestite refers to a person who cross-dresses; however, the word often has additional connotations. -History:Although the word transvestism was coined as late as the 1910s,...
male opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
star’s deceptive seduction of an unsuspecting French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
male diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It was staged during the 1990 Singapore International Arts Festival in the wake of the proscription of 3 gay plays just 2 years earlier, probably to symbolise newly-appointed Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...
's vision of a "kinder and gentler Singapore". It also marked the first instance of total nudity
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
in Singapore theatre. The impact was heightened by the local media which, habitually sensitised to the political climate, highlighted members of the political élite seated in the front row taking in the spectacle with cultured nonchalance.
The Gunung Sayang Association's Peranakan plays
The matriarch in most of Gunung Sayang Association's PeranakanPeranakan
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era....
plays is played by a man, akin to theatre in Shakespearean times. Nyonya women were not encouraged to perform in front of an audience.
The most popular male cross-dressing matriarch to have performed in these plays was GT Lye, whose baju panjangs were made by Aljunied Brothers at Arab Street
Arab Street
Arab Street is the name of a road and neighbourhood in Singapore. There are two explanations behind the name. The first one is that the area was owned by an Arab merchant, Syed Ali bin Mohamed Al Junied and that it was the site of an Arab kampong, hence the name Arab Street...
.
Kenny Chan is a comedic performer from Melaka who has also played the matriarch role and is known for what some consider rather crude stand-up comedy acts. Chan was most recently seen as Romeo in the TV12 series, "The Ways of the Matriarch".
Examples of Peranakan
Peranakan
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era....
plays which featured a male cross-dressing matriarch include:
- Menyesal- Regret
- Buang Keroh, Pungot Jernih- Let bygones be bygones
- Zaman Sekarang - These modern times
Other plays
- Jackson on a jaunt
- As if he hears*
- Lest the demons get to me*
- Emily of Emerald Hill*
- An Occasional Orchid*
bunsong anak ni marcuz
Invitation to treat
Invitation to treat (play) is a month-long trilogyTrilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
of plays performed at the Jubilee Hall
Jubilee Hall
Jubilee Hall is a royal palace built in 1913 during the reign of Mir Osman Ali Khan of erstwhile Hyderabad state. It is considered one of the architectural masterpieces of Hyderabad....
, Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel is a colonial-style hotel in Singapore, and one of the world's most famous hotels. The hotel was established by the famous Armenian Sarkies Brothers. Opened in 1887, it was named after Singapore's founder Sir Stamford Raffles. Managed by Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, it is...
in April 2003. They were penned by acclaimed playwright and academic lawyer Eleanor Wong
Eleanor Wong (playwright)
Eleanor Wong is a writer and playwright in Singapore. Her plays have been produced in Singapore and regionally. She is best known for "Invitation to Treat", her trilogy of plays centred around the experiences of the character Ellen Toh, a lesbian lawyer in Singapore...
and produced by W!LD RICE
W!LD RICE
W!LD RICE was founded in 2000 by Ivan Heng and is recognised as one of Singapore’s leading professional theatre companies.-Description:The company takes its inspiration from the multicultural societies that make up Singapore and modern Asia, celebrating their diverse cultures and performance...
, a professional theatre company founded by well-regarded Artistic Director Ivan Heng
Ivan Heng
Ivan Heng is a Peranakan- -Hokkien-Chinese-Singaporean stage actor and director. He is the founding artistic director of W!LD RICE, a theatre company in Singapore....
.
The three plays of Invitation To treat spanned 20 years in the life of their protagonist, Ellen Toh, following her journey towards self-discovery and self-actualisation. She was a smart, ambitious and hardworking lesbian lawyer who married her best friend in a 'marriage of convenience' that presented her with the best of both worlds– a socially respectable position, and a husband who accepted her sexual orientation.
The plays swept the audience along a unique and enjoyable journey, an Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
of insights which recounted the story of one member of an invisible minority who struggled with her sexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and, over time, grew increasingly confident and self-aware, with more than a little help from her friends. Heng hoped that the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community would relate to the plays which included 'insider' jokes and references that could only be fully appreciated by the gay community, with scripts that were not dumbed down to accommodate a straight audience. Owing to its lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
theme, the producers experienced great difficulty in securing a corporate sponsor.
Mergers & accusations and Wills & secession ran as a double bill from 2 to 6 April 2003.
- Mergers & accusations. Examined personal choices and living in transition while dreaming of, hoping for, and wanting, the 'perfect' future.
- Wills & secession. Explored the corridors of the past, and unravelled the bonds of family and faith in the face of disease and death.
- Jointly & severably. World-premièred from 9 to 26 April 2003, the play laid bare the struggle for commitment, exploded the meaning of family, love and friendship, and the right of a minority to live and love honestly and fearlessly.
Private parts
The play Private Parts was premiered at the 1992 Singapore Arts FestivalSingapore Arts Festival
The Singapore Arts Festival is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. Organised by the National Arts Council, it is one of the most significant events in the regional arts scene. The festival, usually held in mid-year for a stretch of one month, incorporates theatre arts, dance, music and...
, generating a buzz that lasted well past its two sell-out seasons, both during the festival and its immediate rerun, when it played to an estimated audience of 20,000.
Many felt that Private Parts was popular playwright Michael Chiang
Michael Chiang
Michael Chiang is a prolific playwright of the '80s and '90s art scene in Singapore. He wrote Army Daze and Beauty World.He is also editorial director of Mediacorp Publishing, which publishes 8 Days .-External links:...
’s best play to date; definitely, it was his most politicised. The man who defined Singapore comedy with runaway hits like Army Daze
Army Daze
Army Daze is a 1996 Singaporean comedy movie based on the 1987 theater play of the same name by Singaporean writer Michael Chiang...
, Beauty World and Mixed Signals, surprised many with this pointed yet poignant piece of writing.
Pushing the envelope the way no other local production had ever done, Private Parts was a play many agree was ahead of its time. One gets involved with a talk-show host who soon finds out the true meaning of reality TV. One gets a glimpse of the brutality of media competition: how far would one go for higher ratings? Plus, for a nation of gawkers weaned on the night-time beauties of Bugis Street
Bugis Street
Bugis, in the city-state of Singapore, was renowned internationally from the 1950s to the 1980s for its nightly gathering of trans women, a phenomenon which made it one of Singapore's top tourist destinations during that period....
back in the 60s, here was an up-close peek into that mysterious world of drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
s. What more could one want from theatre in the rigid, pre-RA days of Singapore?
Hype aside, Private Parts made news because it was able to engross even the most conservative of audiences with its bittersweet (and unexpectedly moving) story about 3 transsexuals trying to find their place in life. Way before Hollywood was fêted for daring to do the same by putting Terence Stamp
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
, Guy Pearce
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...
and Hugo Weaving
Hugo Weaving
Hugo Wallace Weaving is a Nigerian born, English-Australian film actor and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "V" in V for Vendetta, and performances in numerous Australian character dramas.-Early...
in heels and makeup for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). Not to mention Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
, Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
and John Leguizamo
John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
donning even bigger bouffants and bosoms in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything (1995).
The story: Briefly, a Star Search
Star Search
Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...
winner fronts a current-affairs talk show to improve ratings. His life turns upside down when he ends up in a sex-change clinic with 3 transsexuals. After befriending them, he tries to get them on his show.
Private Parts proved to be such an audience favourite that it was revived in 1995 for another run, this time including a Mandarin version (which starred Edmund Chen
Edmund Chen
Edmund Chen Zhicai is a Chinese Singaporean film actor, singer, television actor and host. He is the elder brother of Dr. Loretta Chen.-Career:...
and the late comedian Hua Liang) as well!
And 12 years on, Michael Chiang
Michael Chiang
Michael Chiang is a prolific playwright of the '80s and '90s art scene in Singapore. He wrote Army Daze and Beauty World.He is also editorial director of Mediacorp Publishing, which publishes 8 Days .-External links:...
’s much-acclaimed play returned to the Singapore stage for a limited season, to wow new audiences, and hopefully bring back some of its old supporters. The new, updated production had its run at the Esplanade Theatre from 28 July to 1 August 2004.
Other plays
- Mardi Gras
- Top or bottom
- Asian boys Vol. 2
- Autumn Tomyam
- Bent
- Beautiful thing
- White sails over blue blue sea
- East Side story
Boxing cabaret
A unique one-woman show on 17 and 18 June 2005 by Parinya Charoenphol, also familiarly known in ThaiThai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
as Nong Thoom. The famous former Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
(kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
) champion who stunned the world with her gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
change invited the audience into her colourful world where strength meets beauty, fight meets dance and heart meets mind.
Still flight
A one-woman monologue written by poet Cyril WongCyril Wong
Cyril Wong is the author of nine volumes of poetry and one collection of prose.- Biography:Born in 1977, Cyril Wong attended Saint Patrick's School, Singapore and Temasek Junior College, before pursuing a doctoral degree in English literature from the National University of Singapore...
and performed by Elizabeth de Roza on 23 June 2005 at The Substation
The Substation
The Substation is Singapore's first and only independent contemporary arts centre. It was founded in 1990 by Kuo Pao Kun.The Substation is centrally located in the city's civic district. Venues at The Substation for hire include a black-box theatre, a gallery, a dance studio, the Random Room and...
Dance Studio.
Spirits 'Yao Jing'
It world-premièred on 3 June 2005 at the Victoria Theatre and Concert HallVictoria Theatre and Concert Hall
The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall is a complex of two buildings and a clock tower joined together by a common corridor and is located in the civic district of Singapore...
. Written as a special dedication to Toy Factory's 15th anniversary and directed by award-winning director Goh Boon Teck, it recounted once upon 5,000 years ago when 5 ill-fated beauties were impeached for their tramped existence. Spirits unveiled 5 untold stories of Sai Jing Hua from the Qing dynasty, an infamous prostitute, Bao Si from the Zhou dynasty, the concubine who never smiled, Lu Hou from the Han dynasty, the revengeful empress, Ya Zuan Ji from the Tang dynasty, a poetic priestess and Ke Shi Ming from the Ming dynasty, the Great Madam, all of whom were despised and condemned by Chinese historians.
Goh collaborated with playwright Xu Sheng Liang (China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
) and music composer Saidah Rastam (Malaysia) to reinterpret Chinese opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
and its heritage in a different ensemble. Together, they breathed contemporary life into traditional Chinese opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
whilst retaining its beauty.
It was crafted as a musical, infusing 5 different forms of Chinese opera, namely Yue, Jing, Li Yuan, Huang Mei and Yu, with contemporary funk. No traditional opera musical instruments or props were employed in this unconventional fusion. Instead, there were 4 actors, 5 martial artistes, 7 musicians, 1 saxophonist and 5 genres of opera in this creative mix.
Spirits advanced Chinese opera a step forward, creating a new theatre platform for the younger generation. Multimedia effects and high-tech neon swords replaced traditional props. An outrageous wardrobe dazzled and a fascinating mobile stage transported the audience to another world.
The constantly challenged notion of masculinity in Asia has unfortunately led to the near extinction of opera female impersonators. Toy Factory proudly featured 5 of these professional 'Nan Hua Dan' from Singapore and China, which made the musical drama all the more gripping.
Boys
A project by Richard Chua, after Lover's Words, about heterosexuals in a homosexual society. It was an extension of Chua's belief that life should be led honestly and truthfully. In his quest to further meditate on love between people (in this case, among 3 boys in their 20s), Chua embarked on this project to push his collaborators to work in a space where they had nowhere to go, but to clean.Cleaning was an essential task that would bring these boys to the next phase of eternity.
The story was about love - love that seemed to be defined differently by different people, with different perspectives, resulting in different outcomes. Each boy had a love story to tell.
Theatre Companies
The following theatre companies have been active in staging plays which examine LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
issues:
- The Necessary StageThe Necessary StageThe Necessary Stage is a non-profit theatre company with charity status in Singapore. Formed in 1987 by current Artistic Director Alvin Tan, The Necessary Stage has been identified as one of the Major Arts Companies by the National Arts Council. The company is also the organiser and curator of the...
. http://www.singaporefringe.com A major theatre company which produced Mardi GrasMardi GrasThe terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
and Top or Bottom .
- It has existed for more than a decade, its history recently documented in the book Ask Not: The Necessary Stage in Singapore by social activists Dr. Tan Chong Kee and Tisa Ng.
- Action Theatre. Straits Times' Life! theatre award winner for gay-affirmative plays such as Autumn Tomyam, and producers of the movie Beautiful BoxerBeautiful BoxerBeautiful Boxer is a Thai biographical sports film by Singapore-based director Ekachai Uekrongtham. It tells the life story of Nong Thoom, a famous kathoey , Muay Thai fighter, actress and model...
.
- Toy Factory Theatre Ensemble.http://www.toyfactory.com.sg/ A leading Chinese-EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
bilingual dramaDramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
company and another Life! theatre award winner, tremendously and publicly gay-affirmative. It produced BentBent (play)Bent is a 1979 play by Martin Sherman. It revolves around the persecution of gays in Nazi Germany, and takes place during and after the Night of the Long Knives....
, staged and translated Beautiful ThingBeautiful ThingOriginally Beautiful Thing is a play written by Jonathan Harvey and first performed in 1993. A screen adaptation of the play was released in 1996 by Channel 4 Films, with a revised screenplay also by Harvey. Initially, the film was only intended for television broadcast but it was so well-received...
, wrote the original script for White Sails Over Blue Blue Sea and East Side Story on the love between two ah bengAh BengAh Beng, from , is a stereotype applied to a certain group of young Chinese men in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia. The stereotypical view of an Ah Beng is a young Chinese man or teenager who lacks cultural refinement or indulges in criminal activity or is involved in brawls or...
gangsters. Its recent offerings were PorcelainPorcelainPorcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
by acclaimed SingaporeanSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
playwright Chay YewChay YewChay Yew is a playwright and stage director who was born in Singapore. As of 2007 he lives in New York City. As of July 2011, he becomes Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago.-Career:...
and Spirits 'Yao Jing', a novel interpretation of Chinese operaChinese operaChinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
. It provided assistance to Threesixzero Productions in its production of a well-balanced documentary for MediaCorp TV on Channel UMediaCorp TV Channel UMediaCorp Channel U or Channel U is the second Mandarin Chinese channel in Singapore and was started officially began on-air broadcasting, inaugurated opened television studio station's transmission first established since on 1 January 2005...
entitled 'Do homosexuals have space for their activities?' as part of the 'Very Penetrating Insight' series in 2005.
- The Fun Stage http://www.thefunstage.org/. Produced the Lovers' Words in 2004, examining gay rights and "Existence" in 2003.
- W!LD RICEW!LD RICEW!LD RICE was founded in 2000 by Ivan Heng and is recognised as one of Singapore’s leading professional theatre companies.-Description:The company takes its inspiration from the multicultural societies that make up Singapore and modern Asia, celebrating their diverse cultures and performance...
, with Artistic Director Ivan HengIvan HengIvan Heng is a Peranakan- -Hokkien-Chinese-Singaporean stage actor and director. He is the founding artistic director of W!LD RICE, a theatre company in Singapore....
and Associate Artistic Director Glen GoeiGlen GoeiGlen Goei is one of Singapore's leading film and theatre directors. His broad ranging body of work embraces the full gamut of performing and visual arts from film, theatre, musicals, large scale shows, World Expos, dance, music to architectural design.Glen Goei was the Artistic Director of Mu-Lan...
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