Yesterday, I managed to catch the last performance of “Apart”, a play by Joel Tan that’s part of this year’s Singapore Writers Festival. It is based on the poems of Pooja Nansi, Jollin Tan, Joshua Ip, Tania de Rozario and Cyril Wong. To be honest, I paid 13 dollars simply to attend this event, since I didn’t manage to make it for the earlier events in the festival. I thought it was ridiculous that I was spending this much to watch only one play, but man, I’m glad I did. After it ended, I rushed home and immediately started on this blog entry simply because I was so excited (and also, while my memory’s still fresh).

Let me just put this out there: the last time I watched a play was 2 years ago, during the annually held Singapore Arts Festival. It was 男男自语 (A Language of Their Own), a play that explored LGBTQ themes. The only thing I had to complain about it was that it was completely performed in Mandarin with no subtitles, and I wasn’t exactly good enough at the language to fully understand it. When I decided to watch this play, I truly didn’t know what to expect because of my lack of knowledge of the Singaporean literature scene. I came in to the theatre knowing next to nothing about what I’m about to experience, which was why I was so pleasantly surprised when I realised “Apart” touches on non-heteronormative relationships their consequences. It was a topic I was greatly interested in. The best thing about it was that it portrays these relationships in such a manner that it’s relatable to the viewer regardless of what sexual orientation they are. Almost everybody knows what it’s like to put in your hardest effort in a familial or romantic relationship, only to have it slowly break down because the other party didn’t try hard enough.

Then there’s the word ‘apart’. Each poet has his or her own individual problems but they all come back to the same lingering issue of being physically and/or emotionally isolated from a loved one and the pain(or liberation?) that ensues. The play breaks down the meaning of being apart to its simplest form, and the audience is left to question whether it’s really a bad thing. Does being ‘apart’ come with a sense of loss, or does it give the necessary space between individuals in order to function together for the rest of their lives? Will it give you freedom, or will you just be an empty shell ghosting around in liminal spaces? I thought the way the play pondered on such a simple word and gave it so much meaning was beautiful and almost romantic in itself.

Then there is beauty in the smaller details of the play, specifically in the way the monologues intertwine and complement each other so well. I especially loved the way songs smoothly transition between monologue or are just sung in the background while the poet at focus carries on moving the audience with heartfelt words that are both personal to the former and relatable to the latter. Cyril’s voice was exceptionally amazing, and I felt that the decision to have his song both start and end the play had the most significance because it simultaneously frames it with such a deep, melancholic mood, it’s just the perfect icing on the cake. To be honest, I almost teared a bit on his last note.

There was a wonderful interaction between the different but equally thought-provoking monologues. Jollin’s parts spoke to me the most; as a female growing up in a country where thin is considered more ‘beautiful’ than anything else, I felt so much for her poems that explore her relationship with her body, which were sometimes said in a lighthearted tone, but we all knew the cold, hard truth behind them. She went on about the dismissive attitudes of her parents despite her numerous attempts to seek their help, and I think my heart broke right then and there. It was at this point when I felt that poetry and art were such important tools in expressing oneself and conveying important messages. How else can we empathise with the poets and the very real issues portrayed in the play?

“Apart” ended on an open-ended note, which, I felt, was mostly sad and left me to think about the fragility of human relationships, but I guess that was the biggest reason why I liked it so much…