Along with, Are You there Singapore?, Yeo’s One Year Back Home and Changi are known in ensemble as the Singapore Trilogy. The latter two dramas follow the same characters after their return to Singapore and deal with different themes than Are You there Singapore? Political themes are very heavy in these dramas including questioning the duty to one’s country and duty to one’s friends. Different takes on nationalism also play a major role in the plot as well as a lurking unrequited love story.
Yeo originally had problems staging One Year Back Home because of the inclusion of dialogue debating opposition platforms with those of the PAP. This led to his major run in with government censors who he felt were unqualified to make judgements on literature based solely on stiff bureaucratic standards that ignore the work’s meaning. Changi, though written later, was pretty critical of the government at the time and the Internal Security Act in particular.
But onto the themes-
Politics in Early Singapore:
Politics is so heavy in these dramas that I can imagine watching this being staged and believe that I’m at a debate. Honestly, I can not imagine a few of these scenes being captivating for an audience unless everyone is really into politics (and I mean REALLY). This part of the drama focuses around two characters who are running for the same MP seat. Chye is running as the PAP candidate and Fernandez, a minor character in the first play, now becomes a central character running as an opposition candidate. Their debate focuses on class representation and struggle, the need for an opposition in parliament, and the usefulness of symbols and values. It takes place in the context of Singapore’s chit fund scandal which teaches me some history at the same time. Singapore’s political system is very interesting to me, so it was useful to read Yeo’s take on it as he examines two different viewpoints. The opposition viewpoint is presented as one which emphasizes the need for lively debate and dissension within politics for a healthy government, and the PAP becoming deaf to the needs of smaller groups and steamrolling them in the name of culture. The PAP take is shown to argue that Singapore as a still developing country needs strong leadership instead of debate for state influenced economic growth to work. The example used is that while other Asian countries are overly cautious with letting in foreign investment and companies, the PAP has made the opposite choice rightly and has grown the economy successfully as a result.
Duties, Values, and Integrity:
While reading Changi, I couldn’t help but notice the similarity with Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Both involve main characters who hold onto their values and integrity over their life and freedom. This play sees Fernandez in Changi prison being held as a suspected communist. This is another example of Yeo writing what he knows and mirrors the plight of his friend who suffered the same fate. Fernandez holds out against the television confession and starts a hunger strike to protest the conditions, ultimately imagining himself as a possible Nelson Mandela type. What ultimately convinces him to agree to the terms is a sense of duty to his parents and friends to not leave them to worry. Duty then becomes another theme, whether it’s to one’s family or country.
I found the characterization to be very strong with Fernandez. Underneath his political plot, there was a love subtext involving him being in love with Hua and her not returning this love. I thought that this pain added to and was an important part of his political fire and recklessness.
My Thoughts:
All in all I thought the two plays provided me with an interesting glimpse into the political and cultural landscape of 70's Singapore. It was a very turbulent decade in the world and was effectively managed and portrayed by the two plays. What was especially interesting was the criticism of imprisonments without trial and possible human rights abuses at the time.
