Jean Tay

a play

Boom

Everything but the brain

The Island Plays

Sisters & Senang

Tew Bunnag

Ann Lee

Alfian Sa'at

Floy Quintos

Nguyễn Đăng Chương

Joned Suryatmoko

Chhon Sina

The first ever comprehensive collection of plays in English from Southeast Asia. Features work by eight playwrights from seven countries in Southeast Asia, a region which is experiencing profound change: Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia. Southeast Asian Plays explores the rich variety of dramatic work that is only beginning to be translated into English. Theatre scripts are merely blueprints for productions, especially in this region. As elsewhere, second productions and revivals are rare, so publication is key to allowing play texts to find a wider international readership. Topics include the global financial crisis, sex workers, traditional v modern values, the role of faith in society, corruption in high places and journalistic ethics. The plays have been selected for performance. Plays: The Plunge by Jean Tay (Singapore) about the efects of a financial crisis An Evening At the Opera by Floy Quintos (Philippines) about a dictator and his wife Night of the Minotaur by Tew Bunnag (Thailand) about a man misused as a monster Tarap Man by Ann Lee (Malaysia) about a man wrongly imprisoned under the justice system Dark Race by Dang Chuong (Vietnam) about corruption in high places Frangipani by Chhon Sina (Cambodia) about the sex trade in Cambodia Piknic by Joned Suryatmoko (Indonesia) about the need to get rich quick in Bali Nadirah by Alfian Saat (Singapore) about the conflict between faith and morality "The editors have done an excellent job of opening up our chances of reading and learning about plays from all over Southeast Asia. ...editorial choices are significant for opening up spaces to voices which are otherwise heard less often. All in all the plays are interesting for the ways in which they grapple with key concerns in their respective societies." --The Asiatic

Southeast Asian Plays

Welcome to the surreal world of Boom, where civil servants wake the dead, corpses are terrified of cremation, old women are besieged in their homes, and Ah Bengs still dream of being Superman. Boom tells the story of an elderly woman and her property agent son in Singapore, who are struggling over the potential en bloc sale of their home. Their destinies become interwoven with that of an idealistic civil servant, Jeremiah, who is facing the greatest challenge of his career—persuading a reluctant corpse to yield its memories. Boom is a quirky yet poignant tale about the relocation of both dead and living, and how personal stories get left behind in the inexorable march of progress. Written by economist-turned-playwright Jean Tay, Boom was conceptualised at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2007, and developed and staged by the Singapore Repertory Theatre in September 2008. It was nominated for Best Original Script for The Straits Times’ Life!Theatre Awards in 2009 and is now an ‘O’- and ‘N’-Level Literature text in Singapore schools.

What do Physics, three bears and a stroke have in common? Take a journey with Elaine, a middle-aged Physics teacher, as she explains the theory of relativity using the metaphor of three bears and a train, and devises a plan to turn back time and save her ailing father from physical determination. Written by gifted playwright Jean Tay, Everything but the Brain was first developed at the Playwrights’ Cove at The Necessary Stage in 2001 and staged by Action Theatre in 2005. It won Best Original Script in The Straits Times’ Life! Theatre Awards in 2006 and has since been selected as an ‘O’- and ‘N’-Level literature text in Singapore.

Everything but the Brain

Jean Tay

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