ALTERNATIVE SEXUALITY IN SINGAPORE THEATRE: ELEANOR WONG'S INVITATION TO TREAT AND ALFIAN SA'AT'S THE ASIAN BOYS TRILOGY

Abstract

This thesis is a comparative study of two trilogies, namely "Invitation to Treat" ("Treat") by Eleanor Wong and "The Asian Boys Trilogy" ("Boys") by Afian Sa'at, both which are considered representative works of the Singapore lesbian and gay theatre, respectively. It explores, within a framework of queer theories, the similarities and differences between their structures, trajectories and queering strategies in close relation to some of the main political and social issues pertaining to the gay and lesbian communities in Singapore from the late 1980s till today. The characteristics of both works, as well as their means and levels of queering employed, are examined. Lastly, the probable reasons for the different treatments of queering in both works are discussed as well, and the efficacy of their queering means evaluated to some extent. Chapter One introduces the objectives of my research and the concept of the queer, borrowing from the theories of Annamarie Jagose, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and Peggy Phelan, amongst others. These notions are applied to the Singapore gay and lesbian theatre, the development of which is studied in detail to provide an understanding of the wider local political and social context inextricably tied to the conceptualization of the two trilogies in question. The reasons for my choice of texts as worthy works to be analysed are also explained. Chapter Two is a broad overview and dramaturgical analysis of the structures, trajectories, and titles of "Boys" and "Treat" in a comparative mode. Chapter Three considers the specific issues, themes and queering strategies in both trilogies, and frames "Boys" mainly as a political resistance to the dominant ideology, and "Treat" as a socio-political commentary on the lesbian experience in Singapore. It therefore contends that the distinctive means and levels of queering employed in the two works are shaped by the very different issues that Wong and Alfian seek to address through their plays. Chapter Four is an attempt to account for the mutual exclusion of lesbian and gay in both trilogies, and also projects into the future of the development of Singapore gay and lesbian theatre. In a nutshell, this thesis concludes that lesbians and gay men should not be generalized under the same category. Hence, the same yardstick should not be used as a measure of the level or type of queering in both trilogies, and gay and lesbian should not be simply seen as dialectical counterparts to each other.