…yet which selection process is without weaknesses, such as favouritism or irrational biases? And if there is a process of selection then there has to be a mirror process of de-selection, but it seems that the elite of Singapore hardly ever sheds members. They merely move up and down the ranks of the elite itself. It’s a jolly little old boys’ club, and there is no need to be accountable to anyone outside the circle.
– ‘Farquhar’, The Government’s Great Getaway.
Truth be told, it’s a sad fact of life because it’s true. It happens everywhere: in Singapore theatre, even in Singapore literature, perhaps.
You might say that it is the work of the Singaporean Ideological State Apparatus, so that this mode of thought is ingrained even in - lo and behold - the theatre scene.
But when it comes down to it, I think everyone just wants a powerful voice that can be heard, everyone is afraid of losing that powerful voice when they have it, and most importantly, everyone is afraid of losing this power to the ‘terrifying’ Other.
On a sidenote, Sweet Emotion is going to be performed as a staged reading in Short + Sweet Singapore 2008. I’ll give more details when I get them.
