Directed by acclaimed local director Glen Goei, Public Enemy (playing in Victoria Theatre from 9th to 25th April 2015) is an adaptation of Norwegian masterpiece An Enemy of the People. Despite having being written over a hundred years ago by Henrik Ibsen, the central conflicts of the story still hold true today.
Starring the versatile Ivan Heng (of Emily of Emerald Hill fame), and the well-known Lim Kay Siu (of Phua Chu Kang fame), among many other star cast such as Brendon Fernandez, Ghafir Akbar and Serene Chen, Public Enemy is one of W!ld RICE’s five pieces of work for the imagiNATION season this year – and centrals on the first of five themes: democracy.
The plot is straightforward: Medical scientist Dr Thomas Chee (played by Heng) discovers that the water their country uses for their spa resorts (a main source of income for the people) is contaminated, and poses a large public health risk. He informs his brother, Peter (played by Lim), who happens to be a minister (of which sector, we are not told). But instead of being applauded for his discovery, Dr Chee is instructed to remain silent on the matter. He is enraged, seeing this as contempt of the public. Initially egged on by people he thought to be his close friends, Dr Chee moves towards announcing this finding through the media, but later looks back to discover that his allies have fallen behind quickly, in light of their own self-interests.
Though the word “truth” is thrown about a lot within the play, it seems as if this “truth” is not so important after all. Ultimately we discover that the impetus for this fight is propelled by the protagonist’s egotism. Dr Chee, as righteous as he makes his cause out to be, is imperfect in his convictions. His family suffers for this – his eldest daughter loses her job as a teacher, and his younger children are unable to attend school in fear of public attacks. His wealthy father-in-law, stepfather to Dr Chee’s wife Catherine, uses money intended for Catherine and her children to buy up the shares in the spa resorts, in the hope that Dr Chee will relent by retracting his words. Yet, Dr Chee’s quest for truth spirals and explodes into a determined fight against the majority and authority, and his family becomes ammunition against him for his steadfastness.
Other side plots are not explored extensively, but are notable mentions. During one of the heated arguments the characters have, it is revealed that Francis (played by Fernandez), a young, educated, liberal political writer who often expressed derision for the government, had applied for a post within the ministry, much to his abashment. Does Francis then represent a segment of the population who on the outset appear to be all for democracy and self-expression, but secretly yearn for the stability of work within the umbrella of an autocratic yet dependable government?
In another vein, Zainal (played by Ghafir Akbar), another political writer for the newspaper The Reformer, admits that he panders to the public preferences in his publishing. To the viewer, Zainal seems to symbolize the quintessential media body, eager to fuel whatever the public hungers for, irrelevant of his own personal viewpoints or facts he knows (but would not admit) to be true.
Cast members’ executions of their roles were stellar, and the scenes’ transitions were seamless–kudos to a very practical yet tasteful set design. Careful attention was paid to details such as the men’s suit buttons: Peter always had his fully done (perhaps to indicate a rigid manner of his administration?), while other characters such as Lim Hock Seng, the business community leader, only had his buttons fully done after switching sides (from supporting of Dr Chee’s truth to that of public opinion).
The general feel of the set was minimalist, with no distractions from the main selling point of the play–the actors’ delivery. In one particular scene, the staging of Dr Chee’s speech at the lecture hall was also inventive in reorganizing the audience’s point of view, making the viewer feel like he was in the lecture as an audience member, and part of the mob that later criminalized Dr Chee as an enemy of the public.
All in all, Public Enemy was a fine production to kick-start W!LD RICE’s season of imagiNATION, and did not disappoint one bit. I am certainly anticipating the next few plays they have lined up – Another Country, Hotel and The Emperor’s New Clothes, all of which I am sure will be just as riveting and interesting as Public Enemy.