Details Cannot Body Wants
Details Cannot Body Wants is a Singaporean feminist play[1][2] written by Chin Woo Ping and directed by K.K. Seet. It was first published in 1992 in the book The Naturalization of Camellia Song & Details Cannot Body Wants and staged on 12 and 13 September 1992 in The Substation's Guinness Theatre by the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) as a part of the double bill Renewable Women, which contained Robert Yeo's Second Chance. It is a monologue by a character (played by Chin) who rants against the societal, cultural, and emotional restrictions of an Asian woman in a mixed culture society and is supported by a chorus as well as an array of props. The play received mixed reviews for having an unconventional structure, later being restagged in New York by the Ubu Repertory Theatre in 1998.
The play mostly originated from Chin's personal experiences. When the play was to be adapted on stage, Robert Yeo submitted an application to the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit (PELU) requesting for a license of Renewable Women. PELU initially refused to administer the license unless certain parts of the play were changed, but later allowed the play to be presented uncut (through an appeal by Yeo) with an R-rating, on the condition that all publicity material for Renewable Women contained a warning "discouraging" those under 18 years old to view the play. This technically made both Second Chance and Details Cannot Body Wants the first R-rated play in Singapore, though it was only Details Cannot Body Wants that was deemed as "offensive".
| Details Cannot Body Wants | |
|---|---|
 The 1993 cover of The Naturalisation of the Camelia and Details Cannot Body Wants | |
| Written by | Chin Woo Ping |
| Directed by | K. K. Seet |
| Chorus | Unnamed characters |
| Date premiered | 12 September 1992 |
| Place premiered | The Substation's Guinness Theatre, Singapore |
| Original language | English |
| Original run | 12-13 September 1992 |
| Subject | Social construct of an Asian woman in a mixed-influence society |
Synopsis
[edit]The play is a 45-minute monologue presented by an unnamed character (played by Chin Woo Ping) enacting societal, cultural, and emotional restrictions of being an Asian woman in a mixed culture society.[1] It is divided into four concepts: (i) details - details of women's struggles in life, (ii) cannot - restrictions placed on women when creating their identity/destiny, (iii) body - male and female's perceptions of women's form, (iv) wants - women's wants.[3]
Chin is supported by a three-person chorus as well as props such as a sex doll, an inflatable bra, masks, and risqué costumes to rant against feet binding, the cultivation of a coy voice, and other issues.[1] She also uses a combination of advertising jargons, rap music, Christmas carols, Cantonese jingles, and pantuns, as well as alluding to Western and Asian cultural figures such as Billie Holiday, Édith Piaf, geishas, Mae West, William Shakespeare, Marlene Dietrich, the Platters, and Sutardji Calzoum Bachri.[3]
Production history
[edit]Creation
[edit]When Chin was writing the play, she had the play's four concepts as well as two images (one of a woman crawling on the floor with a trail of pots and pans and the other of a woman undergoing a breast examination) already in mind, with the breast examination image inspired from her friends undergoing mastectomies. Although some parts of the play came from Chin's personal experiences, she claims that it is not entirely autobiographical.[1] According to Chin, she felt that the success of the play relied on gaining sympathy from the audience for the predicament situations that women face in society.[1]
Before it was performed, the play was published in 1992[4] alongside a collection of 69 poems written by Chin (with some dating back to the 1960's) in The Naturalization of Camellia Song & Details Cannot Body Wants.[5]
Theatrical performance
[edit]When the play was to be adapted for the stage, director K. K. Seet (a friend of Chin) asked her to take on the lead role. Chin was initially hesitant as she has not acted in a while but agreed to do so since she knew most of the play's songs by heart.[1]
| External Image | |
|---|---|
 A photograph of the cast. Source: The Straits Times |
In June 1992, playwright Robert Yeo requested a license for the double bill Renewable Women to the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit (PELU)[6] of the Singapore Police Force,[7] which featured his play Second Chance and Details Cannot Body Wants. By August 1992, Yeo had not received a response and called PELU. PELU then revealed that a license would be granted only after certains scenes of the play would be omitted/changed. Yeo appealed against PELU and an agreement was reached. Although PELU was against the "adult language" and "taboo gestures" (such as grabbing/scratching the crotch) used in the play, it nevertheless allowed the play to be staged uncensored with an R-rating (restricting those under 18 years old of viewing the material). However, the play would granted the license on the condition that all publicity materials of Renewable Women had a disclaimer reading "This play contains adult language and patrons below 18 are discouraged from attending". Although the term "discourage" does not imply a full-on ban of those under 18, it also implies that the NUSS is responsible for "discouraging" those under 18 to view the play.
Chin accepted the decision as the play is "essentially an ideological piece" but expressed confusion over PELU marking a scene involving a simulation of a breast examination as "offensive". Meanwhile, Seet commented that "the play's target audience is basically those who are above 18, so the disclaimer doesn't really affect us".[1][6] It was reported that the public relations and activities manager of NUSS was "surprised" over the decision but supported it as well.[6] Even though the rating was for the double bill (which meant that both Second Chance and Details Cannot Body Wants would have been Singapore's first R-rated plays), in effect, only Details Cannot Body Wants was deemed "offensive".[1]
Premiere
[edit]The play premiered on 12 September 1992 at The Substation's Guinness Theatre with two shows, a matineé at 2pm and a show at 8pm.
Given the play's rating, three students from the National Institute of Education were instructed to screen those who looked "suspiciously young" along with handling the tickets. Eight people were screened in total, all of whom were above 18 years old. Four of them were screened before the matineé and the other four before the 8pm show. The Straits Times reported the show was sold out with more than 300 tickets sold, as well as the audience seeming to "be in their 20s and 30s". There was another show at 8pm the next day.[6]
Later developments
[edit]Following the performances, Chin gave a reading of the play in Canada, which was aired on ABC Australia.[8] The play was also restaged in 1998 by the Ubu Repertory Theatre in New York.[9]
Reception
[edit]The play received mixed reviews due to its unconventional form. Hannah Pandian of The Straits Times called the play "a formless mishmash of all things woman-oriented, kept afloat by a gimmicky collection of songs and sketches".[10] In response to Pandian's criticism, David Britton of the National University of Singapore's (NUS) English Language and Literature Department gave an alternative perspective of the play, calling it "a thoughtful and witty consideration of an Asian woman emerging in a world of mixed sexual and cultural influences".[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h "Singapore's first R-rated play". The Straits Times. 9 September 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 31 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
- ^ "Restricted plays". The New Paper. 9 September 1992. p. 4. Retrieved 31 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
- ^ a b Seet, K. K. (1996). "Feminist Manipulations of the Gaze in Contemporary Singapore Plays". In Chin, Woo Ping (ed.). Playful Phoenix. Singapore Press Holdings. ISBN 9789810080396.
- ^ Koh, Buck Song (5 September 1992). "A woman and the world". The Straits Times. p. 18. Retrieved 31 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
- ^ Chin, Woo Ping (1992). The Naturalization of Camellia Song & Details Cannot Body Wants. Times International. ISBN 9789812043948.
- ^ a b c d "No under-18s caught at S'pores first 'R-rated' play". The Straits Times. 13 September 1992. p. 21. Retrieved 31 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
- ^ "SPF | Public Entertainment Licence". Singapore Police Force. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Naturalised Writer". New Straits Times. 5 February 1997.
- ^ "What's going on and where". The Straits Times. 1 April 1998. p. 5. Retrieved 29 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
- ^ Pandian, Hannah (14 September 1992). "A mishmash of sorted". The Straits Times. p. 3. Retrieved 31 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
- ^ Britton, David (18 September 1992). "Alternative view on Chin's play". The Straits Times (Letter). p. 6. Retrieved 31 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.