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Revision as of 20:13, 29 October 2024
Details Cannot Body Wants is a Singaporean feminist play directed by K.K. Seet. It was first staged on 12 September 1992 in The Substation's Guinness Theatre. It is often noted to be "Singapore's first R-Rated play".
The play is a monologue by a character (played by Chin) who laments the societal, cultural, and emotional restrictions of an Asian woman in a mixed culture society.
Details Cannot Body Wants received mixed reviews for its unconventional form. The play would later be restagged in New York by the Ubu Repertory Theatre in 1998.
| Details Cannot Body Wants | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Chin Woo Ping |
| Directed by | K.K. Seet |
| Chorus | Unnamed characters |
| Date premiered | 12 September 1992 |
| Place premiered | The Substation's Guinness Theatre, Singapore |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | Social construct of an Asian woman in a mixed-influence society |
Synopsis
The play is a 45-minute monologue presented by an unnamed character (played by Chin Woo Ping) enacting societal, cultural, and emotional restrictions of being an Asian woman in a mixed culture society. It is divided into four concepts: (i) details - details of women's burdens in life, (ii) cannot -, (iii) body -, (iv) wants - women's wants.
Chin is supported by a three-person chorus as well as props such as a sex doll, masks, an inflatable bra, and risqué costumes to rant against feet binding, the cultivation of a coy voice, and other issues. She also uses a combination of advertising jargons, rap music, Christmas carols, Cantonese jingles, and pantuns, as well as alluding to Western and Asian cultural figures such as Billie Holiday, Édith Piaf, geishas, Mae West, William Shakespeare, Marlene Dietrich, the Platters, and Sutardji Calzoum Bachri.
Production History
Creation
Licensing
Before it was performed, the play was published in 1992 alongside a collection of 69 poems written by Chin (with some dating back to the 1960's) in The Naturalization of Camellia Song & Details Cannot Body Wants.
In June 1992, playwright Robert Yeo submitted an application to the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit (PELU) requesting a license for the double bill Renewable Women, which featured his play Second Chance and Details Cannot Body Wants. By August 1992, Yeo had not received a response and called PELU. PELU then revealed that a license would be granted only after certains scenes of the play would be omitted/changed. Yeo appealed against PELU and a compromise was reached. Although PELU was against the "adult language" and "taboo gestures" (such as grabbing/scratching the crotch) used in the play, it nevertheless allowed the play to be staged uncut and uncensored with an R-rating (restricting those under 18 years old of viewing the material). However, the play would granted the license on the condition that all publicity materials of Renewable Women had a disclaimer reading "This play contains adult language and patrons below 18 are discouraged from attending". Although the term "discourage" does not imply a full-on ban of those under 18, . Chin accepted the decision as the play is "essentially an ideological piece", with Seet commenting that "the play's target audience is basically those who are above 18, so the disclaimer doesn't really affect us".
Premiere
The play premiered on 12 September 1992 at The Substation's Guinness Theatre with two shows, a matineé at 2pm and a show at 8pm. Given the play's rating, three students from the National Institute of Education were instructed to screen those who looked "suspiciously young" along with handling the tickets. Eight people were screened in total, all of whom were above 18 years old. Four of them were screened before the matineé and the other four before the 8pm show. The Straits Times reported that the audience seemed to "be in their 20s and 30s". There was another show at 8pm the next day.
Later Developments
After the performances, Chin gave a reading of the play in Canada, which was aired on ABC Australia. The play was also restaged in 1998 by the Ubu Repertory Theatre in New York.
Reception
The play received mixed reviews due to its unconventional form. Hannah Pandian of The Straits Times called the play "a formless mishmash of all things woman-oriented, kept afloat by a gimmicky collection of songs and sketches". In response to Pandian's criticism, David Britton of the National University of Singapore's (NUS) English Language and Literature Department gave an alternative perspective of the play, calling it "a thoughtful and witty consideration of an Asian woman emerging in a world of mixed sexual and cultural influences".
References
- The Naturalization of Camellia Song & Details Cannot Body Wants. Times International. 1992. ISBN 9789812043948.
- "Singapore's first R-rated play".
- "Naturalised Writer". New Straits Times. 5 February 1997.
- "What's going on and where". The Straits Times. 1 April 1998. p. 5. Retrieved 29 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
- "A mishmash of sorted".
- "Alternative view on Chin's play".
External links
- Infopedia article
- NUS Catelogue of