Sanah Akhtar | sanahakhtar@hotmail.com
the ridge transmedia
A NUSSU Publication
With more than 60 original works to its name, local theatre company The Necessary Stage (TNS) marks its 20th birthday this year. The creators of critically acclaimed and landmark productions in Singapore theatre such as Off Centre (1994) and Fundamentally Happy (2006) are back with their newest work, Good People.
Set in a hospice, Good People revolves around the relationships between three characters; a doctor, a nurse and a terminally ill patient addicted to marijuana. The play follows the journey of these three individuals as they are embroiled in a complex state of affairs that raises pertinent moral and ethical questions.
The production boasts a vibrant mix of both local and international cast and crew which, according to Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage, Alvin Tan, allows it to explore “multiple positions more profoundly”. Touted as “a moving, humorous, and socially engaging production”, we interview Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma, respective director and playwright behind Good People, to uncover just how the play meets the mark.
Playwright Haresh Sharma (together with director Alvin Tan) discusses his new play Good People and describes it in three words: Pain.Marijuana.Karaoke.
(Photo Credit: http://www.kadmusarts.com)
Q1) What was your inspiration for ‘Good People’?
Haresh: I was thinking about the whole idea of death penalty in Singapore. There [were] a few high-profile cases last year which I followed with great interest. Eventually, despite a lot of concerns brought up, the individuals were still given the death penalty. So I came up with a narrative where a terminally ill patient was addicted to marijuana. What if she were caught? Would she be sentenced to death if she was already ‘facing the death penalty’ so to speak?
The idea and narrative were fleshed out with Alvin [director] and the cast over a nine-month process where we met, discussed, improvised, researched and presented a preview to an invited audience.
Q2) As the events of the story unfold in a hospice, was there any field research conducted while writing the play? What was that experience like?
Haresh: We all went to a hospice to do some research, where we spoke to people from the medical profession. We spoke to lawyers, doctors and nurses. I didn’t speak to any terminally ill patient[s] but we shared our own stories of death of friends and family.
I love writing plays because I have the quiet time to write, and also because I have the time to work with actors and directors, go for field trips and talk to people involved in the issues I’m writing about. These experiences motivate me and fuel me to create. They inspire me to create for a purpose… it’s not something in the air.
Q3) The Necessary Stage’s previous works (such as ‘godeatgod’ and ‘Fundamentally Happy’) are known for their interest in pushing the audience beyond their comfort zones and confronting them with complex issues. Does ‘Good People’ follow in the same thread? How does it attempt to engage the audience?
Haresh: In Fundamentally Happy, I created a scenario where a young man goes back to his old neighbourhood and confronts his neighbour [with the information] that her husband sexually abused him 20 years ago. In the course of the play, we discover that he may have imagined it, or he may have initiated it or he may have even liked it. It’s not easy for me writing it… and for an audience who may have very fixed views on ‘paedophilia’. But I wanted to unpack and make complex these issues of ‘childhood sexuality’.
In that sense, I’m trying to do the same for Good People. I want to bring out the grey in issues which we have long been told are black and white.
Good People is about the use of marijuana in pain management, yet it’s also about compassion. It’s about the death penalty, yet it’s also about faith and spirituality. I like to create a narrative and leave it to the audience to discuss the issues that the narrative brings up.
Q4) The synopsis to ‘Good People’ describes it as looking at ‘urgent contemporary issues through the test of personal relationships’. What kind of contemporary issues does the play hope to explore and why do you view these issues as ‘urgent’?
Alvin: Good People also deals with interfaith issues. Miguel [the doctor] is a Catholic from the Philippines. Yati [the nurse] is Malay Muslim nurse and Radha [the terminally ill patient] is Hindu. In Hinduism, marijuana consumption is celebrated. So when marijuana consumption is demonized, do we ever ask [whether] it may be based on a religious or cultural perception? Good People also addresses how morality is informed and shaped by religions that may be more dominant in the cultural field and how that can in turn influence policies, as policy makers subscribe to these beliefs and worldviews. That is pretty urgent.
Secondly, medical marijuana or marijuana consumption for palliative care is debated, discussed and in some countries allowed. If a person is dying and in pain, shouldn’t that be a consideration? If we are in that position, won’t we find ourselves fighting for that right? As we become an ageing society, issues of mortality, dying at home, quality of life during the autumn of our lives will matter. If we want to prepare for the above, the issues that are onboard have to be addressed quite urgently. Or at least we would have to begin thinking about these issues as we need the time to process them.
Q5) Are there parallels drawn between ‘Good People’ and one of TNS’s more famous productions, ‘Off-Centre’? Especially as both deal with institutionalized spaces and the plight of patients. How different would you say the two plays are?
Haresh: I would say that Off Centre is clearer in its politics. We feel for the protagonists who are struggling and down-trodden. We can see clearly who the ‘oppressors’ are, despite their own limitations. In Good People, you can despise a character in one scene and love her a scene later. You can empathise with a character yet not agree with her choices. It’s less clear. Even when I’m watching the rehearsals, I swing from feeling for one character to another.
(Picture Credit: The Necessary Stage)
Q6) The production boasts a mix of local and international cast and crew, in line with The Necessary Stage’s current focus on international collaboration. What kind of dynamic do you think this will lend to the play? How different will this be from previous TNS productions?
Alvin: As mentioned [earlier], the fact that Rody [plays Miguel, the doctor] is from the Philippines, Suki [plays Radha, the patient] is Hindu-Indian from Malaysia and Siti [plays Yati, the nurse] is Muslim-Malay from Singapore, Haresh and I were able to draw from the varied sensibilities. The different cultural histories gave us the opportunitiy to explore the belief systems of the three characters and to see where these beliefs can be contested so much so that we can see quite clearly where the motivations of these characters come from. They are all good. Yet they lead to conflict. And this fulfils our objective of what Good People aspires to explore.
Good People is different from previous TNS productions in that it explores multiple positions more profoundly. One is led to empathise with each character but not side one over another so easily. That way, the audience is engaged in numerous debates because to make a clear moral stand is a complex process.
Q7) In previous interviews you [Haresh Sharma] have spoken about the balance between performativity and the literary in a play. Where do you think ‘Good People’ falls on this spectrum?
Haresh: I hope that Good People has both the literary and performativity. Good People has a more stylized set – the designer Vincent Lim has crafted a maze of curtains to create different spaces and moods. We invited two sonic artists from Australia to create a soundscape. The script is also less linear and intertwines argument and intuition.
Q8) What sort of message do you hope the audience takes home from watching ‘Good People’? Or what kind of a reaction do you hope to evoke from them?
Haresh: I don’t really have a message – in the sense that I don’t want to tell anyone how to think. I just create a narrative and I only hope that the audience WILL have a reaction, whatever that reaction may be.
Q9) If you had to describe ‘Good People’ in three words, which would you choose?
Haresh: Pain.Marijuana.Karaoke
Q10) What plans do you have in the works after ‘Good People’? Is there any particular direction you would like to explore in your future plays that you have yet to do so?
Haresh: As Resident Playwright of The Necessary Stage, I am constant[ly] writing one play after another. It can be very tiring and draining, but I am (often) never tired or (rarely) drained because working with Alvin, I have so much freedom to write what I want, in all kinds of processes, and with amazing actors.
My next play is Eclipse, which will be presented at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival from 16 – 27 Jan 2008. It’s about the India/Pakistan partition of 1947 as told through the eyes of a Singaporean man making a journey to bring his father’s ashes back to Pakistan.
Good People is playing at The Necessary Stage Black Box from 1-3 & 7-10 Nov at 8pm and 3-4 & 10-11 Nov at 3pm. Tickets are priced at $28 (excluding booking fee).
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