Cooling Off Day is a certified goosebump moment.
And I don’t even hold a pink IC!
Okay, now that that’s out in the open, anyone who thinks non-Singaporeans shouldn’t make any comments dealing with GE 2011 because it’s none of their business can skip this post and wait for the next one.
It’s about, erm, art.
Back to COD.
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Unlike that pre-voting moment the play takes its title from, a single day where every prospective voter could theoretically compose him/herself before ticking the boxes and “rationally” deciding on their future leaders, COD feels like it was served fresh and piping hot from the oven (or straight from the horse’s mouth, take your pick).
Despite being staged months after GE 2011, it maintains a sense of urgency, a play caught up in the heat of the moment that wants to be heard now, now, now.
And that is what makes it all the more potent (which is not to take away from other equally powerful works that have been afforded a longer gestation period). The subject matter’s very specificity of time and place, the current context outside of the arguably neutral space of theatre enlarges the work to the point that it becomes more than just a play.
All the more so because it’s a play with the firm imprint of voices other than playwright Alfian Sa’at. In fact, the voices are so loud and multifaceted (although some might argue it’s skewed towards a certain train of thought) that it’s practically a babel.
Comprised of an array of monologues from Alfian’s interviews with various people pre- and post-GE2011, COD gushes forth with little restraint as it touches upon not just thoughts regarding the elections but those that seemingly have nothing to do with it.
Repressed sexuality as a metaphor for the act of voting? The cuteness factor of Malay boys from the East compared to those from the West? How PM Lee looks like Allan Wu? It’s all there sandwiched between more serious points about the HDB’s racial quota and Teo Soh Lung’s heartbreaking account about her incarceration during Operation Spectrum in the late `80s.
From makciks, students, sex workers and taxi drivers to Vincent Wijeysingha and Xia Xue, COD is a veritable coffeeshop of ideas. It’s also interesting to note just how pivotal the online universe has proved to be – Alfian taps into it judiciously, staging a hilarious podcast by Mr Brown and reenacting a familiar Youtube video of a woman totally enamoured by Chiam See Tong.
Some reviewers have questioned COD’s unwieldy nature, describing it as tedious and calling for some of its “fat” to be trimmed. I’m not so sure. I kind of liked its all-over-the-place feel. The sensation of wading through a sea of clashing voices, of going through the highs and lows of emotions, from anger to sadness to asthma-inducing hilarity. “Zeitgeist” came up a lot during the months leading up to the festival. Well, here ya go.
And mega-props to the six performers – Jo Kukathas (who co-directed with Ivan Heng), Neo Swee Lin, Rodney Oliveiro, Tan Kheng Hua, Peter Sau and Najib Soiman – who looked very much like they were enjoying themselves as much as the audience as they brought to life the different characters, in particular, Sau and Najib’s humorous turns.
I’m not sure if you can still get tickets to the remaining shows, but do try to watch COD if you can (or you can drop by at the forum titled On Politics — A Brave New World? this afternoon, 5.30pm, at the Drama Centre Foyer).
But if you miss it, then I urge W!ld Rice to restage this ASAP.
Or heck, maybe after five years? I’m damn curious what happens then, when GE 2016 comes up.
(Cooling Off Day runs until tomorrow. Details here.)
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