It is the
year 1941, the beginning of World War Two. The Japanese, vowing to liberate
the East of colonial rule, establish control over many territories in
South-East Asia. Not only do they fail to keep their promise, but these
alleged freedom fighters are responsible for the deaths of over 80,000
British, Australian, American and Dutch POWs and Asian slave labourers
(romusha) who are forced to work on the Siam-Burma Railway.
Romusha transported its audience to this time and place, where
a talented, multi-racial cast - reflective of the people of different
races who were tortured, raped and humiliated during the Japanese Occupation
- attempted to reveal the extent of physical abuse that was inflicted
on the POWs and labourers.
The stage was hung with Japanese flags, forming a shrine and evoking
fear and apprehension, making one recall the real-life accounts of Japanese
brutality during WWII. Credit to Andre Danker and Paw Sorensen for sound
and lighting design that succeeded in heightening this sense of fear
and misery: the slow, haunting music that was played after the ending
of innocent lives and the dim lighting added to the depressing and lonely
atmosphere.
The cast of Romusha was able to thoroughly engage its audience
throughout the entire production. It is challenging for a play like
this to move the audience due to the obvious difficulty of tackling
such strong issues and creating the perfect atmosphere. However most
scenes in Romusha took less than a minute to captivate the
audience. For instance, in a scene where three civilians were beheaded
by the Japanese for attempting to escape, I could see the audience staring
in horror as the beheading took place. Playing the part of the fearful
victim, Sudeep Singh portrayed deep-rooted terror as his character ran
for his life and, when caught, begged for mercy only to be laughed at
by the Japanese soldier.
If not for the ability of the cast to engage the audience, Romusha
could have been in danger of presenting a mere documentary on the events
of the Japanese Occupation. But this was not the case: instead of viewing
the Occupation from a "historically objective" perspective,
Romusha delved deep into the minds and hearts of its victims.
The actors presented their characters as mere civilians who yearned
to return to their loved ones and this struck a chord with the audience
as they realised that the victims of the Japanese Occupation were just
ordinary people. These actors also managed to show the transition of
emotions felt by the victims - from reluctance to obey orders
to fear of their Asian masters to mere resignation to their circumstances.
Though most of the scenes were very intense, one scene, showing the
plight of the rape victims, was particularly horrifying. Sandhu and
Ng succeeded in showing us the helplessness and desperation of the "comfort
women" during the Japanese Occupation. Lying on the floor, writhing
in pain, they pleaded with the Japanese soldiers to use protection during
sexual intercourse, and their screams of agony were painful to listen
to. Suffering from sexually transmitted diseases, these women were provided
little or no treatment and were even raped by the doctors who were supposed
to cure them. These rape victims were also brutally killed by the Japanese
when they threatened to report the soldiers' misconduct.
Though it may be true that the play dealt fearlessly with strong issues
and contained graphic depictions of violence which added to the overall
sense of realism, the Japanese soldiers seemed little more than cardboard
cut-outs and less real than the rest of the play. If there had been
more exploration into their psyches, the production could have been
even more well-rounded.
Nevertheless, the brilliant exploration of the suffering of the victims
of World War Two and the laudable ability of the cast to draw the audience's
attention ensured that Romusha gave everyone a piece of history
to reflect on. |
"Instead of viewing the Japanese Occupation from a 'historically
objective' perspective, Romusha delved deep into the minds
and hearts of its victims"
Previous Productions by Agni Kootthu
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