I have to
admit that I do not look forward to going for reservist training and
it boggles my mind that there are some people who do. Don't get me wrong,
in my head, I know all the reasons why it has to be done but that doesn't
mean I have to enjoy it - except somehow, I strangely do. Part of it
is the surprise and perverse sense of achievement that someone like
me can somehow make it out alive at all but another part comes from
the powerful and somehow comforting bond that exists between all NSmen
because of our shared experience. Words have meanings for NSmen that
simply don't exist for people who have not gone through national service.
You say the word "guard duty" and it means something: there's a whole
conveyor belt of emotional baggage that comes with that one word. And
then there are words like "CB leaf" (don't ask) that don't mean anything
at all to anyone else.
And that is the power of Army Daze. It's not a terribly sophisticated
script (remember the film?). Playwright Michael Chiang knows this and
admits as much in the programme. The audience knows it too. The script
is littered with caricatures (the mummy's boy, the ah beng, the mat,
etc.) and low-brow humour, and the plot is thinner than most army boys'
paper underwear. And yet the play has been such an enduring and endearing
success over the years simply because of the way it taps into something
so very primal - it appeals to our very sense of who we are, our sense
of home. Army Daze is shamelessly and therefore distinctly
Singaporean with its thick local flavour, NS in-jokes and strong Singlish
tones.
No one for a second thinks this is Pinter or Chekov. Army Daze
is a big-budget spectacle painted in cartoon colours and broad strokes,
engineered for mainstream success in Singapore and it does what it does
relatively well. The audience I was with clearly enjoyed it for what
it was, as their frequent laughter indicated, although I must admit
that I myself was looking for just a little more coherence and substance
in the meandering script. The star-studded celebrity cast (Lim Kay Siu,
Selena Tan, Mark Richmond, Emma Yong, Sebastian Tan, etc.) were clearly
enjoying themselves as well which was nice to see. I guess this was
a rare opportunity for them to let their hair down and (over)act alongside
rubber snakes in a jungle and giant cardboard cut-outs of Pulau Tekong
fast crafts and training sheds. They sang, they danced, they jumped
around and they delivered lines that were lamer than someone trying
to keng and get Atten B.
The short running time helped to paper the cracks in the script and
keep things moving quickly (especially when the script got caught up
in pointless asides about serious fare such as recruit Pereira's troubles
with his family) but really, I think what made the play work as well
as it did were essentially two key performances. One was by Hossan Leong
who totally transformed himself physically to play the meek Malcolm
Png, his whole body bent out of shape with bow legs and a hunch - although
his comic timing remained as finely tuned as ever. Kumar, a standout
in the ensemble cast, was the other delight. He commands the stage and
audience like no one else in Singapore and here, as Lathi, a girlfriend
to one of the army boys, a single word or action caused the audience
to erupt with applause and laughter. Frankly, just appearing onstage
was enough for him to receive an ovation. He says more with a single
arched eyebrow than many of our more fêted-actors can with an
entire set piece. His overacting is underpinned by an intelligent understanding
of how to shape and contextualise his lines so that they become funnier
than they really are and this was particularly evident when set against
the blunter and more heavy-handed efforts of his many fellow cast members
who were all flash and flare (as opposed to flair) but little else.
He knows and understands his audience - and they love him for it.
Army Daze was supposed to celebrate the pride of Singapore:
its national armed forces. But at the end of the day, I think it made
me most proud to be a Singaporean because of our other national treasures
- the geniuses of Kumar and Leong. |
"Army Daze was supposed to celebrate the pride of Singapore:
its national armed forces. But at the end of the day, I think it made
me most proud to be a Singaporean because of our other national treasures
- the geniuses of Kumar and Leong"
Credits
Playwright: Michael Chiang
Directors: Beatrice Chia and Goh Boon Teck
Set Designer: Goh Boon Teck
Lighting Designer: Suven Chan
Costumes Designer:
Mothar Kasim
Choreographer: Gordon Choy
Cast: Hossan Leong, Robin Goh, Sebastian Tan, Vernon
A, Sheikh Haikel Selena Tan, Kumar, Emma Yong, Benjamin Ng, Mark Richmond,
Gerald Chew, Lim Kay Siu
|
