Late Company

'Late Company' was written by Canadian playwright Jordan Tanahill in 2013 when he was 25 years old. Pangdemonium adapted the play for the Singapore audiences. It was a wonderful show with powerful themes that really touched the audience. The actors were brilliant. There were tears and laughs. The audience understood loss, grief and pain. While this is a dramatic theatre play, nothing about the themes and acting was dramatic because the themes, the words and the reactions are portrayed are too real.

I watched the 1.5-hour show with a fairly grim face. To be honest, I didn't really want to watch Pangdemonium's 'Late Company'. It's a play with themes that I'm not particularly interested in. I'm not keen on wanting to watch how parents feel about children's suicides, bullying in school and being bullied. I haven't even begun to understand the suicides of peers, which are happening one too many nowadays. While I'm aware of mental health issues, and suicides, these are already in my everyday, and I wasn't thrilled about sitting through a play with those themes. The play is part of the season ticket, and I went anyway.

The play addressed many themes. Obviously, suicide stood out for me. It doesn't have to be teen suicide. What's currently relevant to me, are suicides among people of my generation, and give or take 12 years my age. An acquaintance's suicide last month left me slightly stunned. Not shaken. No, not guilt. I save that for the people closest to me, and I pray they never take this path. How do we catch and prevent suicide if a person is determined to kill himself and not utter a single word or hands out a clue? We can catch depression, and try to help, but it takes a village (and a duty roster) to be there for a depressed friend. Being there 24/7 for a depressed friend can and will suck the life out of you, even if the friend is closer than kin and there's love to buffer it all.