• Blog
  • Archive
    • Portfolio
    • China
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Singapore
    • Singapore Literature
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
    • About the Book
    • Q & A
    • Media & Reviews
    • Images
    • Buy it here
    • Writing
    • Short Story Recommendations
    • Writing Resources
    • Tools for Writers
    • Writing Prompts
  • About
  • Contact
Menu

The Sun Shines & The Igloo Melts

Photography & Writing
  • Blog
  • Archive
  • Gallery
    • Portfolio
    • China
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Singapore
    • Singapore Literature
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
  • We Rose Up Slowly
    • About the Book
    • Q & A
    • Media & Reviews
    • Images
    • Buy it here
  • Writing
    • Writing
    • Short Story Recommendations
    • Writing Resources
    • Tools for Writers
    • Writing Prompts
  • About
  • Contact
 Playwright Joel Tan

Playwright Joel Tan

 Jollin Tan

Jollin Tan

 Joshua Ip

Joshua Ip

 Apart

Apart

 Joshua Ip & Cyril Wong

Joshua Ip & Cyril Wong

 Poets Pooja Nansi, Tania de Rozaria, Jollin Tan & Cyril Wong

Poets Pooja Nansi, Tania de Rozaria, Jollin Tan & Cyril Wong

 Cyril singing

Cyril singing

 Apart at The National Museum

Apart at The National Museum

 Apart at The National Museum

Apart at The National Museum

 Apart at The National Museum

Apart at The National Museum

 Poets & Playwright, Apart

Poets & Playwright, Apart

 Playwright Joel Tan  Jollin Tan  Joshua Ip  Apart  Joshua Ip & Cyril Wong  Poets Pooja Nansi, Tania de Rozaria, Jollin Tan & Cyril Wong  Cyril singing  Apart at The National Museum  Apart at The National Museum  Apart at The National Museum  Poets & Playwright, Apart

Apart

November 10, 2014 in Writing, Singapore

Apart was created & performed by poets, Tania de Rozaria, Jollin Tan, Pooja Nansi, Cyril Wong & Joshua Ip, with playwright Joel Tan.

The five poets spoke and sang with intimate honesty about the self in conflict with, & separation from, family, friends & society as a result of expectations regarding sexuality, body image, relationships etc.

The performance was wonderful.

Earlier that Sunday in the same modern theatre at the National Museum I watched Saint Jack (1979). The movie's final frame captured a shot of Clarke Quay and the Singapore River with it's dilapidated, grotty, decaying shophouses. "Wow." We exclaimed, "Compare that to Clarke Quay now with it's outdoor mushroom/triffid air conditioning, multi coloured, renovated shophouses and reverse bungy. My how Singapore has changed!" 

Rather than compare buildings from 35 years ago to the present, you could compare the representation of Singaporeans in Saint Jack to those in Apart.

During Singapore Writers Festival, Paul Theroux commented that "... Singapore is what you see in a city. A city is all surfaces. It's tall, it's beautiful, it's new, it's rising."

Apart goes beneath the surface.

Where you focus your gaze is important because if you look beneath the shiny surface of Singapore's shopping malls, skyscrapers & majestic public buildings you can see an energy and creativity (as well as some dirt haha) amongst Singapore's poets, playwrights and writers that reflects an individuality and dynamism bubbling away apart from all the commerce & consumerism produced above.

I hope Apart is performed again. So I can experience & think about it more.

Tags: Apart, SgLit, Singapore, National Museum of Singapore, SWF, SingaporeWritersFestival, Poetry, Singapore Writers
← Singapore Writers Festival 2014Lady Praying & Thich Nhat Hanh →
Back to Top

Copyright Jon Gresham 2013 to 2020, All Rights Reserved. 

Nothing on this website may be reproduced, whether in part or as a whole, without explicit, express  permission in writing from the author.   

Sign Up here for more information or leave a comment.