hello i am back ... Army Daze
ARMY DAZE is a probably my least-favorite Michael Chiang script ... the subject matter that never really interested me ... some 20 years later, my NS was such a traumatizing experience I'd still much rather forget ... hence the non-desire to revisit it in the theatre or cinema (no, I have not watched Ah Boys to Men either) ... when mimi_choo invited me to catch it on opening night on Thu, I was kinda half-hearted ... I couldn't decide if this re-staging (from the pop references, an updated version of last year's staging), directed by Bea Chia-Richmond, wants to be a play, a musical or a commentary ... maybe it tried to be all three, and wound up a little short ... the first half was familiar - exposition and introduction of the various characters/archetypes: Malcolm Png played by the affable Dwayne Tan, Mrs Png by the inimitable "Auntie Lucy", Rebecca Spykerman as the irrepressible Lathi ... stand-outs from the ensemble were Siti Khalijah as SGT Khatib and Joshua Lim who committed fully to his Ah Beng ... the second half took a surreal turn with the inclusion of musical numbers decrying Singapore's dependence on its migrant workers (its alternative army, geddit geddit) and how sons of PRCs do not need to serve NS ... visually, the production looked very lush (for the interior of any army barracks), scenic design by Goh Boon Teck, lighting design by Dot Png, and costumes by Moe Kassim ... which made the threadbare plot and one-dimensional characterization very obvious ... there was little empathy for Shane Madjuki's Kenny whose family left him all alone in Singapore ... the audience was too distracted by everything else that was happening to care.