The "Army" Needs YOU!

About the compulsory conscription of all male Singapore citizens and permanent residents who have reached the age of 18 years of age, National Service is that dreaded period of one's life where for many long months, one turns into a non-civilian uniform wearing M16 rifle carrying soldier. Many a men, so they say, are made during this trying times.

Wild Rice presents a double bill about National Service, served up in two wicked comedies - Laremy Lee’s comedy FULL TANK and Julian Wong’s musical BOTAK BOYS. These two talented young playwrights went through NS and survived to tell their tales, offering their affectionate but cheekily satirical observations - reminding us all why we love it, hate it, fear it and ultimately, can’t live without it!

Fifo speaks to director Jonathan Lim about his thoughts about national service, and why it could just be such a hilarious time!

 

 1. Tell us what you thought of your time in National Service, and what antics you were up to.

 

Looking back, i know it was a strange but wonderful time of my life. So many adventure and encounters. New friends made, endless new experiences. For this spoilt kid from a catholic chinese school, the army was a tremendous eye-opener and I'm very grateful for it. I learnt to deal with vastly different types of people - and to respect and trust them. I learnt to think with and for the group over and above the self. I learnt so much about duty and loyalty. It changed the way I view my fellow Singaporeans, ad my life and art are definitely the richer for it.
 

Antics ? Aiyoh, so many. I was posted eventually to Beach Road Camp and I remember sending clerks out to pick up lunch orders from Seah Street Deli, and buying half-price tiramisu from Prego's for the guards on duty. Weekend duties were quite cool, cos friends would drop by the gate on their way to/from dinner or a movie and hang out a bit. And I recall a weekend guard duty where the cookhouse encik came back and cooked a seafood feast for all the guards, just because he felt like it!  And going back to Tekong for ORD shoot was amazing - returning as a sergeant to the same camp where I did BMT, same bunk even - it was really a full circle experience!
 

Ok those are some of the antics that are fit for print. My time at School of Signals involved more hush-hush antics, haha!

 

But most significantly, army was also the time I really started doing theatre! My professional stage debut (SRT's Into the Woods) took place during my NS, as did my second show - Kampung Amber - for which I was temporarily posted to MDC.

 

2. What do you think National Service, could, become? If you had your way?

 

I think they're managed to sort most of it our over the years. It'll never be perfect, but its too big and too national to be flawless. What I wish for is that everyone who enlists or does reservist comes to understand the real value of what they do - as a act of national identity and loyalty; as an empowerment of our little island and an act of commitment to defending home,family and our rojak way of life. I remember a CO explaining once that it is rare and wonderful to have a country in which every single family is ready to fight to defend our homes, instead of leaving the defence to hired help.

 3. What has been the best thing about directing these two madcap scripts? Having a cast and crew that is even more madcap! Rehearsals are endless laughter and an abundance of comic possibility - it is tough to choose but that's a blissful challenge. So much happens in rehearsal that I wish we could keep in the show - but that would make the shows run too long! But I also wrote and directed a musical to celebrate 25 years of Total Defence earlier this year, and it was great to be able to continue acknowledging the role that NS plays in our Singaporean lives - this time through crazy comedy with a delicious love-hate attitude. 4. Together with Michael Chiang's Army Daze, this seems to be the birth of a whole new genre of theatre unique to Singapore.  And about time! Army is too significant a shaper of our S,pore psyche to have remained so little-written-about for so long.  Twenty-odd years since Army Daze - you'd think army got phased out in between! I'm shocked that some people even thought that Army Daze had said all there was to say! It was a great start but no one picked up on the invitation to keep delving - until now! I'm glad to contribute to the fledgling canon - I hope there will be more because there's more to say. Crazier stories, darker stories, sweeter stories - the army has its share of them all and writers should definitely explore further.  That's what Laremy and Julian did - they had personal yet recognisable experiences in their army life and generously shared them with us all. And the army is changing rapidly, as we are changing as a people - and there's a lot to capture there.

 

W!ld Rice's Own Time Own Target runs this wed till July 25th at the Drama Centre. Tickes from Sistic.