The Society is dividing us... We are dividing...

Yesterday, 7 April 2020, was the first day of 'Circuit Breaker'...

(In Singapore, we don't call it 'Lockdown')

It's only the first day... and I can see the rules are breaking us apart... We are diving into TWO basic groups - The Privileged and the Unprivileged - whether consciously or subconsciously.

This law is flawed. (Well, LAW itself is flawed anyway...)

How come no one see what's coming...? Did anyone has any preparation proposals to deal with the coming social issues?... Oh... The Privileged will not see the problem(s) of the Under-Privilaged.

And if you are not sure which group you are in, here, let me help you a bit... You are consider 'Privileged' with the following points -

1. You have a loving family

2. You can hug your loved ones at home i.e. your partner, kids, parents and pets

3. You have a domestic helper

4. You have a kitchen

5. You know how to cook

6. You are tech savvy

7. You have a computer/laptop/tablet/smart phone

8. You possessed many various interests

9. You have many hobbies

10. You are mentally and emotionally stable

11. You are mobile and healthy

12. You are literate

How many points you have altogether?

If you have (at least) 3 - Good enough.

If you have more than 3 - You are blessed and you are one of the Privileged!

We all want to help the situation... We support the 'Circuit Breaker'. We are fine to stay home for 28 days. However, the following are some situations that you might NOT have thought about... Use your imagination! Picture yourself during the lockdown under these circumstances. After that, maybe you can give some good suggestions.

1. You are staying home with an abusive partner

2. Your parents are constantly fighting and there will be no peace at home

3. You don't have a tech device because you are poor

4. You are a senior who doesn't know how to use a device

5. Your kids constantly 'ignored' you at home and you only have caring friends in the CC

6. You stay alone and you are not very mobile.

7. You stay alone and you happen to get sick (NOT from CoVID!)

8. You have a boy/girlfriend and you don't stay together

9. Your parents stay very far away from you

10. You are not your parents' favourite at home

11. You don't know where to collect your mask

12. You are mentally/emotionally unstable...

And the list goes on... Of course, you might not buy in to some of the above situations... 

Frankly, if you can post on social media and report about what's outside, whether at food court or market or void deck, it means you were OUT too! If not how you know leh?

I am NOT against the scheme. But I sincerely feel that we NEED to think about the OTHER STORIES as the Privileged ones. What are our 'precautions' and preventions? Where is the Help Line? How can we ensure people are SAFE at home? If we don't do anything or make conscious effort to help, there could be an increase in domestic violence and suicide cases after 28 days... Are we prepared for that?

I don't have a proposed solution. I just hope people don't judge others so fast. There might be a story that you don't know that's not part of your world. You won't be able to understand because you are not them. So, just do your part - do whatever you can/want for yourself. Don't need to 'police' others. You are not to judge. If you are really worried about the other, then approach them and give them a little advise in a nice way. You can do it! It'll help more than your postings on any social media. The person cannot see your postings! 

Seriously, what's stopping you? You can do it. We are all here to help the situation right...? Then get a loud healer and stand in the centre of the square or market and convey your kind message, or talk personally and nicely to the uncles/aunties, show them you care! Show them you want them to be safe! And if they still don't listen, at least you have done your part. Why must wait for the police to do it? It's a nationwide matter! I agree that we all have our responsibilities and we should share it together! We wanna make the Circuit Breaker work, right? Social Media is NOT going to help you to do that! And if you can't bring yourself to say it directly to the other party, it's ok. Just take care of yourself! You are not obligated to do it. But you will also not have any stand to judge. 

I know there are the selfish ones... The ones that don't care - the egoistic ones. But how do you know who is which if you haven't hear anything from that person or had a conversation with him/her? It's like CoVID-19 right?! LOL Nobody knows.

Being Singaporean & Multilingual Theatre

Being a typical Singaporean in my own generation, I speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and understand a little bit of Malay... My Mom can speak almost 7 languages including Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Malay and English. Maybe that's why I'm so fascinated with languages amongst people.

I remember hearing and observing conversations between my neighbours and my mom when I was little - She will speak Malay to my Malay neighbour and they will sometimes respond back in Hokkien. I guess that's their way to show that one is making effort to be part of the other. It's a nice feeling. 

Since young, I lived in a surrounding of 'code-switching' without thinking too much about it. I never realised how 'fascinating' it is to most foreign friends till I started my study in an international environment. There were (and still have) people who asked how do Singaporeans 'do' it? - Code-switching almost every other line and changing languages in a conversation amongst ourselves... My usual answer to them is always - I don't know. I never thought about it. It just come 'naturally'. (Well, obviously not very 'natural' to them...) And I began to be more conscious as I dwell into understanding more of this 'behaviour'...

When I started GroundZ-0, it was very clear to me that I didn't wanna be labeled as English or Chinese Theatre. I am a Singaporean and whatever I do - will be a Singapore's work. I love languages at it's most 'natural' form - It sometimes indicate it's development and influences within a society and thus having it's very own structure, intonation and pronunciation which are specifically 'typical' to a certain region. And that's interesting for me! I imagined a world with everyone speaking a 'standard form' of a language and it will be so much more B...O...R...I...N...G... Then again, having said that, I am NOT against learning the so-called 'standard form' of a particular language. In fact, we have to learn it in order to understand the evolution and variations. But don't judge. I will not agree that certain countries 'set the standard' of a particular language, whether in verbal or written form. To me, all languages are equal and no one is more superior than another.

It's been interesting producing Always Every Time - A double-bill with a Malay/English and Mandarin/Cantonese presentations side-by-side. How often do you (or have you even) watch a show in another LOCAL language that's not your own or mother-tongue? Have you ask yourself why? We really hope to open up doors and get some conversations and discussions going... It's not something 'new' (we know), but perhaps it's something we have forgotten...

I shall share my discoveries and experience with you, after watching a few rehearsals of Tiap Kali Aku... (The Malay/English presentation in Always Every Time)

As I have mentioned earlier, I only comprehend limited vocabulary in Malay and have to read the surtitles during rehearsals. Thinking that it would be the case for the rest of the runs. However, to my surprise, I am starting to rely less on the surtitles after 2 runs and becoming more conscious/aware of the structure of the language. It has also reminded me of certain words that I have long forgotten. That's a joyful discovery! And yes, it's almost always about the 'environment'... Because we, as Singaporeans, we do possess the capability of adapting quickly to another language - put any Singaporean in a foreign country and give him/her 3-6 months... They will probably be able to start interpreting, if not be able to speak in the basic structure of that language. Than again, I am not sure if this so-called 'capability' is only applicable to my generation since most of the Singaporean youngsters now a days only speak 2 languages, or worst, 1 language. Maybe we have lost something along the way as our country progresses...

So, can we re-cultivate our appreciation for our local languages? Do we need to? Do we want to? Or is it ok to turn ourselves into a monolingual country with a language that is not even native? Some people are worried that we will not be able to 'know' each other if we insist on preserving our own language (mother-tongue) since we are in a multiracial society... But hey, my mom and her generation have proven otherwise. I think they communicate, recognise and accept each other better! They make effort to bridge any differences that we now take for granted. I think they are much happier than us.

A Letter to Singapore Chinese Theatre Alliance

30 Jan 2016

The setting up of 'Singapore Chinese Language Theatre Alliance' by -

The Finger Players

The Theatre Practice

Paper Monkey Theatre

Drama Box

Toy Factory

Nine Years Theatre

新加坡华语剧团联盟 － 新华剧体 成立

十指帮

实践剧场

猴子剧场

戏剧盒

TOY肥料厂

九年剧场

Dear Friends,

I have been wondering to write this in English or Chinese... And I decided to do this in English. (Though my Chinese is actually better...) Because I want more people to read this... For all non-manadrin speakers and non-chinese readers who are interested.

I have to say that even I have chosen to write this in English, that doesn't take away any Chinese-ness in me. 

First of all, Congratulations! And thank you for this historical moment of setting up this 'Alliance'. I am proud of you and respect all your good/hard works contributed to the scene. I am sure that all masters before our time would be glad to witness this important and significant theatre event of this century.

I have been thinking... All that you (and audience) have mentioned during the talk... 

I am glad that Singapore Chinese Language Theatre Alliance (SCLTA) is NOT an union. I personally have 'phobia' of the word 'Union'... It normally means a 'closed-circle/group' who 'differentiate' themselves apart from others, and in the midst of working, pushes out 'other' groups due to defensiveness and 'classifications'. So, the public and practitioners have to understand that SCLTA is NOT an union.

SCLTA is not formed to just present productions and festivals together. It's objective/mission is much more than this. Frankly, if you just wanna organise a festival, you don't even need to set up SCTA. All of you have the means and capability to do that! SCLTA aims to promote Chinese (Language) Theatre, exploring the complexity of Chinese culture, language(s), relationships and social concerns etc. (I use the word 'language(s)' because I have included many dialects in the Chinese language.) This triggered my first 'bunch' of questions... Not necessarily directing it towards you, but I think we should all ponder over...

• What is Chinese-ness? What is 'Singapore-Chinese-ness'?
• What are we trying to 'promote', 'defend' or 'rescue'?
• Is building 'Chinese-ness' so important? How about building 'Singapore-ness'?

Of cos' it's more than just language(s). So, ‘新加坡华语剧场’ SINGAPORE Chinese Language Theatre... I guess the 'Singapore' is important to me. 'SINGAPORE-CHINESE' is important to me. So we are looking at our own 'Chinese-ness'? Already I can feel the gap between me and my parents... And now I have new immigrant and foreign friends... Our 'Chinese-ness' have such vast differences, in definitions and culture. What am I defending? If there is anything to defend... What do I wanna 'build'?

If we say that our younger generation speaks lesser and poorer Mandarin and is less 'Chinese', that goes with our Malay/Indian/Peranakan/Eurasian community in Singapore too. I said this because I've spoken to these friends numerous times and know that they too, have the same 'struggle'. So, this is a nation-wide phenomenal. We are losing 'IT'. Losing our distinctive 'identities'. 

I agree with Nelson Chia that it is important for us to 'promote/protect' our own culture in our society, EXACTLY because we are supposed to be 'MULTI-Culture'! If this phenomenal persists, we will, as a nation, lost all our 'distinctiveness' and become homogenous. Well, is that good or bad?... I'm still thinking... Though I must say, instinctively, I would not like that to happen. That's boring. It's the MULTI-racial and MULTI-culture that make us 'unique'. Isn't it?

Someone mentioned feeling 'nostalgic' about Mandarin during the talk... That's sad and pathetic! Mandarin has fallen into the category of 'Nostalgia' cos' it's not our common daily tool anymore! The thing about Chinese (Language) THEATRE is that - Most of the older generation (mandarin-speaking) thinks that it's too 'chim' ('hard/difficult') and would rather go for ge-tai or pop local movies and the younger generation feels that they can't relate to it cos' it's not their 'common language'. Of cos' there is still a group of mandarin speaking (older) audience who will support the Chinese theatre. (We all can see that.) So now it's the question of HOW can we reach out to more public... And not let Mandarin becomes a language of 'the past'...

My stream of thoughts became even more complicated when I heard the Chinese students spoke during the session... So what if now, we have foreign younger generation who wanna join the Chinese Theatre force in Singapore? What effect does it have? Singaporeans learning Chinese is getting lesser... And we have an amount of foreign talents... So are we still doing 'SINGAPORE Chinese Theatre'? Or are we just doing 'Chinese Language Theatre'? If we have a Chinese playwright, a Malaysian director with a Singapore cast, and is produced by a Singapore theatre company, does it make it a 'Singapore-Theatre' piece? Does it matter? Or not... 

Last year, I attended a session 'Cakap-Cakap' organised by The Necessary Stage (Alvin Tan). We discussed about whether theatre groups should tag themselves as Malay, Chinese or Tamil Theatre companies or simply, 'Singapore Theatre' companies...? I was surprised to see only Drama Box and Nine Years Theatre representatives during the session. 90% of the participants were from Malay and Tamil theatre companies. This recall makes me worried that we are, as Chinese, again, like to 'group' ourselves together and differentiate ourselves from the rest... Please pardon my frankness. But I do have faith in you and trust that you will not, and, it's not your intension to do so. I guess we have to be very conscious about this matter.

I love Wen Sen's comments and Dr. Quah Sy Ren's conclusion. Yes, Chinese Theatre is not as marginalised and minority as contemporary dance or tamil theatre in Singapore. So we should not have that 'Oh-so-poor-me' kinda mentality. And yes, of cos' there are ways to improve! And we should all work hard for it. I urge all who are concern and interested in the matter to share and contribute and be a part of this 'champion/movement'. 

Thank you once again. We all know that there's still a long way to go... But thank you for the 'START'! I sincerely hope to see your vision very soon and let's embark onto this journey together!

Love always,

Zelda Tatiana Ng

感受《靈戲》。。。一首撕心裂肺的哀歌！

由十指帮呈现
钟达成作品

灵与魂的纠结
揭露人性一场
无尽止愚蠢的战役
就在这一夜。。。
一次
痛彻心扉的控诉！


首先，请允许笔者在这里的一些些任性与放肆。。。我坚持以繁体书写此剧剧名！
《靈戲》笔者绝不是不尊重制作／创作群，而是简体的《灵戏》，对笔者来说，真的不能体现此剧（此版本）给于笔者的感受！中文乃象形文字，每个字都包含独特的意象。。。而‘靈’字，即使看得懂繁体字的人，在这惯以电脑书写的‘E年代’，要真拿起笔写在纸上。。。还得仔细想个清楚。此版本的《靈戲》，就正正如此。

《灵戏》，笔者至少看了四版，这算是第五版。此剧‘特别’之处，就是每一版都截然不同！有自然风格、后现代主义、唯美呈现、不同语言的运用交错、多种文化的交流创作。。。每一部都是沥心之作。但是，坦白说，这是笔者第一次真正体会到剧中人物那深深的哀怨，滴着血的无助。。。
第一次‘感受’《靈戲》。

《靈戲》不是一出难懂的剧目；反战争的主题思想非常明确。这样的主题几乎人人都能理解，也不会有什么人会‘有胆子’公然地不认同。。。看完了此版演出，笔者才惊然发现，原来自己一直都是知性地去理解故事，理性地分析讨论和欣赏人物与剧情。一直以来，都没有感性地去‘承受’那五位‘幽靈’的悲惨经历。。。笔者可以理解‘悲痛’，但并没有为他们饮泣。这次，这一夜，这版本 － 它像一棒坚硬的铁锤，当头来袭！让人已经不能用知性去理解。。。因为它痛入心扉、撕心裂肺！剧里人物一段段的故事，像一把吧匕首，由远而近，一步步靠近。。。你能够感受到危险的未来，亦可以预测到不幸的终结，但就是逃不了无助的命运。

或许有人会觉得这部（版）戏的某些部分或许有人会觉得这部（版）戏的某些部分，会稍稍过于歇斯底里，印象中，似乎之前的版本都没有如此‘激动’过。。。然而，这正是为什么此版本能穿透灵魂、翻腾血液，能让观众感受到刀刃上的冰冷、枪口中的残酷！就是一直以来的那些版本都太‘冷静’，所以笔者一直看的是《灵戏》，而非《靈戲》。剧中怨魂的那种无尽止、无边无垠的悲痛、愤恨。。。这一夜的歇斯底里是不可避免的！其实，很多人都有过这样的经验 － 那种濒临‘绝境’的茫然与失落。。。岂能了了道来，面不改色？更何况这五个人物都是迷失的怨魂，被放逐于轮回道外，没有明天。。。当知道‘事实’是何等残暴时，如何还能‘理性’面对？
怒吼与痛斥是因为人物已经无法再承载那些‘不可理喻’的‘事实’和‘丧尽天良’的罪行！
但是，这样的处理，必须要有导演（钟达成）精确的‘铺排’，还有敏锐的‘计算’。因为，只要稍多一秒，就会事得其反，等于创作在台上‘自杀’。钟达成一直以来，对人、物、事的体现及叙述都是敏感细腻的，能在叠叠的字里行间展现角色的挣扎和多面性。至少对笔者来说，《靈戲》的节奏、起伏，导演都拿捏得相当准确。

全剧中，詹輝朕（诗人）的表现是突出的。‘抗战’与‘卫国’原本出自爱国的情操，可是，一旦这坚忠的情操被自己的国家利用、耍弄，就有如被亲生父母出卖，痛不欲生而又进退两难。詹辉朕的诠释里，有自豪、无助、悲痛、愤怒、茫然和控诉，把‘诗人’立体化地塑立于台上。一把富感情的歌声，唱出刻骨铭心的幽怨。。。

黄家强（总司令）是本土资深演员，人物的塑造几乎毫不费力。这位剧坛‘大哥大’，语言能力无法抵挡；他能够赋予每句台词、每个字坚韧的生命力。。。让它们在你脑海里回旋、翻转。。。回荡。。。回荡。。。

郑光辉（汉子）和陈宛诗（姑娘）的表现亮眼；把剧中人物的脆弱展露无遗。那种‘不存质疑’的‘天真’，似乎不会想到人性与人心的险恶和龌蹉。。。一步步跌入‘万劫不复’的命运。观众是聪明的，不管有没有看过这出戏，其实一早就能预料到故事中隐藏的险恶。。。看着人物逐渐坠入深渊，心里除了同情，还会怒斥人性的罪恶，甚至感叹人物的‘无知’。

此版本的《靈戲》中，有三只看起来微不足道的‘小鬼’（郭沛珊、骆丽诗、谢惠琳）。但是，这三小鬼在此剧中非常重要 － 她们是人的心魔；是贪婪、是暴戾、是自大、是诱惑。。。她们能够躲在阴暗的角落，也能隐形地围绕在人的身旁。。。虽然她们不能主宰生死，掌控轮回，但她们却能穿梭时空，缠结记忆。。。这三小鬼嘲笑人的愚昧，但也助长人的略根性。



她们也是导演安排的‘代言’；
是无声的狂吼！是导演对战争与暴戾极其愤怒的控诉！

战争的哀歌一直都在唱着。。。我们悲戚、同情、反抗、怜悯、驳斥。。。人类文明五千年，我们参透历史，但还是没有吸取教训，没得到‘点化’，依然固我；继续愚昧、继续堕落。。。

(Photos by Tuckys Photography, The Finger Players)

看《籽》的联想。。。

十月二十九日（星期四）
SOTA Drama Theatre
《籽》的首演。。。

好久没有看到一部让我心动的戏了。。。开场前还担心，因为白天工作太累，可能会在剧场里睡着。。。结果，100分钟的故事，扣人心弦，虽然我听不懂几句日语。。。

人因何故会饿？除了生理上的需要，还有某些人是常常都会饿的。我身边就有这样的朋友。饿了就想吃，吃了还再饿；这餐还没吃完，就已经开始想着下一餐该吃什么了。浅意识中，要填饱的不是胃，而是另一种‘空缺’；像脑子、心灵和魂魄都是空空的。。。一定要找些什么‘东西’来填补。你有过这样的经验吗？爱人或好朋友离开了，突然想吃他们平时爱吃的东西或爱喝的饮料。。。虽然之前，那些东西可能不是你的最爱，而且一旦开始吃或喝，就有如开了个‘无底洞’，一发不可收拾！

如果‘吃’是‘接纳’，那‘煮’就是‘给予’。爱煮菜的人，像有无限量的爱，源源不断的‘供应’，只要看到吃的人开心，一切都值得。在我生命中的某个阶段，曾经告诉自己，今后不再煮菜了，也认为没有什么人可以让我为他下厨。为什么会有这样的决定？因为，不能再付出任何爱。因为，感情‘银行’里的‘储备’用完了。过了至少十年，才开始又想煮菜给朋友品尝。。。

饭和饭桌，本来就是爱的体现。《籽》剧里有句话让我异常感动， 大意是 － 吃饭，不管往生的、在生的，都围过来饭桌前吃饭。。。我记得小时候，我妈会坚持全家人都得坐在一起吃饭！那时觉得好烦，好没有‘自我空间’。。。大家围在饭桌前傻傻的，即尴尬又无奈。恨不得快点把饭给吃完，好早些离开饭桌。我家就是如此！所以，从一个家庭吃饭的气氛和习惯，就大概可以看出这个家庭是否是‘残缺’的。

《籽》是一部充满爱的剧目。很欣赏导演张子健的导演手法；简洁干净、淡然中又富有想象空间。舞台设计的简练和精确，渗透出‘东阳风味’。。。像杯上好的日本清酒；顺喉清香、回味无穷。

《籽》剧的最后一场戏，带观众进入个‘冥想’空间。。。在那5-8分钟里，就看着演员（妈妈）盛饭给所有人（家人）。。。整部戏仿佛在我脑子里‘倒带、加速前进、停顿、放慢。。。’，回忆着剧情、台词。。。然后，演员们一起吃饭。。。灯渐暗。。。眼泪在眼眶中打转。。。

我觉得《籽》和《根》（钟达成自编自导自演作品）有相近的主题，应该可以结成一个系列。所谓‘系列’，通常都是至少三部以上吧。。。播了籽，扎了根，就会有树，然后开花、结果。我期待。祝愿十指帮继续茁壮，开出更多更美的花朵和果实！

(Photos by The Finger Players)