This election season is arguably the hottest one yet, and unsurprisingly, almost everyone wants to weigh in on it.
Social media is rife with posts on rallies, campaign tactics and citizens’ hopes for Singapore, with some pieces more well-articulated than others.
In the spirit of being politically involved, The Ridge has put together a list of some of the best local plays that discuss Singapore politics, elections and the issues associated with it—some in more subtle ways than others.
Click on the title of a play to find photos, review and more information about each production.
1. Cooling Off Day
Alfian Sa’at’s Cooling Off Day is a play composed of a series of monologues by Singaporeans from all walks of life.
It details ordinary people describing their hopes for Singapore, the struggles they face and how that will influence who they vote into government.
The play provides a take on the new law in Singapore about Cooling Off Day—a time when all General Election campaigning activities are to cease so that voters can reflect objectively on the best candidate to vote into power. The play employs the voices of a taxi driver, a homemaker and a teacher among several others to express attitudes that Singaporeans have towards politics and governance, in a masterful manner.
2. Good People
Written by playwright Haresh Sharma, Good People questions the flexibility in legislation by exploring how foreigners integrate to life in Singapore and brings the fate of the elderly to the limelight.
A terminally ill elderly woman takes drugs to ease her pain, but in light of Singapore’s strict anti-drug laws, she is arrested nonetheless. The play details the feelings of the woman and the staff who are complicit in her drug-taking as they work through guilt and anxiety while keeping up appearances. The play (which notably includes only characters from the minority racial groups in Singapore) provides a poignant take on the lives and fates of the outliers in their bids to fit into a structured society.
3. Charged
Charged by Chong Tze Chien begins by throwing readers head-first into a crisis.
A Malay National Serviceman has been shot dead during a training exercise and a Chinese soldier commits suicide in the wake of this grim event. The play discusses issues of race, religion and the relevance of National Service through candid dialogue between the characters. Charged asks controversial but important questions about Singapore and what it really means to move forward as a united front, if crisis were to strike.