“Chinatown Crossings“

Reviewer: Jocelyn Chng
Performance: 13 July 2019

Armed each with a transmitter-earpiece set and a handheld screen fan, we set off from the Chinatown Heritage Centre on Pagoda Street, led by our protagonist Kunalan. He tells us that he grew up in this area, but has not been back in a long time. As we walk, he marvels at the changes – especially the tacky bright lights that are now a staple of Chinatown at night.

I struggle to keep up sometimes, having to jostle past the Saturday night crowds while keeping an eye on the stage manager – we have been advised to keep close to her in order to better receive the audio. Indeed this is one of the few slight annoyances of the evening, as my experience is marred by substantial audio interference.

I get used to it though, and devote my energy to soaking in the environment (we have also been told to immerse ourselves in the experience, but I am sceptical about this – more on this later).

What I value most about Chinatown Crossings is its treatment of the history of a place that is more culturally heterogeneous than the name “Chinatown” implies. I greatly appreciate the choice to show us the area through the eyes of an Indian protagonist raised by his neighbour’s Cantonese ma jie (domestic helper).

Despite being Singaporean, I am ashamed of my ignorance that the area was only christened “Chinatown” by the government authorities as recently as the 1980s, although I was aware of its other names, Kreta Ayer and Niu Che Shui/Goo Chia Zhui (牛车水). Also, much of the rich history of the neighbourhood is closely tied to the Cantonese community. Not being Cantonese, the experience puts me in an intriguing yet disorienting position – I actually feel like an outsider. I learn a lot, but it feels like being on one of those city walking tours as a tourist.

The touristy aspect is further highlighted at two points. The first is when we are given the opportunity to “make our own” chendol, complete with enthusiastic step-by-step instructions from Ting Ting, Kunalan’s feisty neighbour and childhood best friend. The second instance is when we get to decorate our plain fans with ink-stamped designs. While these segments feel slightly kitschy to me, I applaud the thought given to incorporating interactive segments that meaningfully share the area’s culture and history without being tokenistic.

Credit also goes to the skilful cast, who not only play characters but also act as “tour guides,” looking out for the audience’s safety as we cross roads, and facilitate the above-mentioned interactive segments. Jodi Chan as Fong Cheh, Ting Ting’s ma jie, has the especially challenging task of ageing five decades in the span of two hours, which she carries off admirably.

In an overall carefully thought-through piece, a minor quibble that I have is with the non-linear timeline. Whilst it is easier to designate time periods in a conventional stage setting, it is much harder to convincingly maintain a sense of the past in such an experience. Although this has been managed by having Kunalan (in contemporary time) take us through most of the touristy streets lined with souvenir shops, there are times when this is also done by Kunalan and Ting Ting (as kids in the 1960s), and Ting Ting (in 1986). It is during the latter instances that I find it difficult to be immersed in a strict sense, as I am concurrently bombarded with sights of toy Transformers and tourists snapping pictures on their mobile phones.

The ending is wistful, with the passing of Fong Cheh and the impending demolition of Pearl Bank Apartments – the comment on conservation issues in Singapore is not lost on me. Nevertheless, I come away from Chinatown Crossings feeling recharged. As Kunalan likes to say, Chinatown is full of “ghosts” from the past, and I am glad to have encountered some of them.

“Well-Packaged Promenade“

Reviewer: Isaac Tan
Performance: 18 July 2018

If 2017 was the year of the musicals, then 2018 is the year of theatrical tours.

On the surface, Chinatown Crossings has little going for it when compared with other theatrical tours presented this year. And can the piece offer anything new, given that there are already countless tours of Chinatown being conducted by various groups?

Furthermore, despite Drama Box’s established practice of creating thought-provoking site-specific works, one can’t help but notice that the Singapore Tourism Board gets top billing in the list of supporters. Would the show, as Corrie Tan puts it in her criticisms of another theatrical tour, “feel like a well-made public service broadcast for the Singapore Tourism Board”?

But despite my reservations, Drama Box does succeed in creating a tour that educates the general tourist, offers a heartfelt theatrical experience to the theatre-goer, and subtly challenges the official narrative of the place.

The main premise of the tour involves Kunalan (Pavan J Singh) wistfully telling his story of living in Kreta Ayer (as Chinatown was once known as to the locals) as a son of Indian immigrants. He recounts his friendship with the landlord’s daughter Ting Ting (Sabrina Sng), and Fong Cheh (Jodi Chen) – the ma jie (Chinese domestic helper) who brought up both of them. Ting Ting then picks up part of the tour and we soon see a slightly different perspective of the past.

What immediately makes this promenade theatrical performance different is the lack of demarcation of the pitstops where the scenes take place. We have to weave through the crowd, and most passers-by are unaware that a theatrical performance is going on, as they often walk into the performance area.

Add the fact that we are constantly plugged into a transmitter – which broadcasts what the actors are saying, soundscapes, or news broadcasts – and we find ourselves having to deal with the juxtaposition of the world of the play vis-à-vis “reality”. We are also presented with a palimpsest with aspects of the past and present coming to the fore at various points.

Jean Tay’s gentle text not only brings out the depth of the relationships amongst the three characters, but the social realities of various demographics, such as what the ma jies had to sacrifice. Additionally, Tay resists being a broadcast for Singapore Tourism Board through subtle lines, such as when Kunalan remarks that he has never seen so many lanterns in his life, or that the famous Lai Chun Yuen opera house is now a hotel that keeps changing management – criticisms of the excessive exoticisation and commercialisation of Chinatown.

Kudos must go to the cast (on top of those mentioned, Aadi and Muhammed Izzan bin Jagafer Sadiqq take turns to play the young Kunalan, while Lu Jiayi and Toh Yun Woon play the young Ting Ting) for being able to balance the role of tour guide and actor at the same time. They also managed to create an intimate atmosphere, despite the tour group spreading out during scenes that take place outdoors.

If anything, Chinatown Crossings is proof that institutions can collaborate with art groups to create meaningful experiences. One hopes that Drama Box would uncover more stories in future seasons, and expand to other areas of Singapore.