EXTENDING PARAMETERS : QUESTIONING THE STATUS QUO IN SINGAPORE THEATRE

Abstract

This Academic Exercise is concerned with how censorship affects political comment in Singapore theatre. The objective of this thesis is to prove that playwrights have been able to question the status quo despite a set of stubborn strictures. I will also show that playwrights have circumvented these guidelines in creative ways. This is due to a combination of factors, the core factor being that the government has been gradually moving Singapore into a phase where an authentic soul of the country is being sought. Since this phase began, censors appear to be more receptive towards bolder theatre experiments. In the following chapters, I shall concentrate on the plays of Robert Yeo (Yeo), Kuo Pao Kun (Kuo) and Tan Tarn How (Tan) to prove the thesis statement: parameters of freer expression are being extended and there is an increasing acceptance of political comment. The introduction will contextualise the censorship mechanism in Singapore. It will also speculate on reasons behind the failure of previous attempts of questioning the status quo. Chapter One will focus on the beginnings of political theatre in Yeo's plays. Chapter Two is an analysis of Kuo's political satires. Chapter Three then turns to Tan's political allegories. While analysis may occasionally extend to the theatre performances, emphasis will remain on the play scripts. Essentially, this is because the text is what censors base their judgements on when a permit is being considered. In the conclusion, l shall offer suggestions of ways in which the parameters of expression may be further extended.