W!ld Rice :: FAGHAG

Even before I bought tickets to Wild Rice's 'FAGHAG', there was already a brouhaha stirred up over the term 'fag hag'. I've always understood it to be derogatory. But by and by in our local scene, especially the arts, music and theater circuit, it seems to have become an affectionate term for straight cis-gendered allies to the LGBTQIA+ community. 

The brouhaha. That. TL;DR. One group is offended by the term and the whole concept of a show, and said so online. They expressed their opinion. But because they tagged a prolific playwright, writer, social activist in the initial post, and he writes for Wild Rice too, it triggered a response, of course. Pink Dot SG weighed in, made clear that they supported the actress, the show and the term (used in a positive manner). Then it snowballed. 

Some are offended by the term. Some aren't, and some proudly use it and accept the use of it. It's a divided issue, and the LGBTQIA community are trotting out 'queer history' and what happened in the past for the community to get to where they are today. Wild Rice has also thrown its support for Pam Oei and stood behind her and their straight allies.

I'm cisgender she/her. I won't ever use the term ‘faghag’ on myself or anyone else because I wouldn't know if that is acceptable to most people. Yeah, I could ask, but often I'm not prepared to engage in any type of cerebral conversation with acquaintances or at random social situations. I belong to the generation who totally gets why and how the term might be accepted. You can use the term around me or call me a 'faghag', but only if it's spoken with kind and positive vibes, and I'm absolutely certain that you mean it the friendly way. I won't stand for it if I suspect anything derogatory behind it. I won't flame you online, but I will ask you directly about it to clarify any doubts I have. 

Directed by Ivan Heng, Wild Rice has borne the burden of staging the entire production, a show that had been halted for nearly two years. FAGHAG was first staged at Singapore Theatre Festival in 2018. The script has been refined and edited for this new staging, and has been waiting to be shown once the pandemic regulations relaxed. AND THEN.

BY A SHEER STROKE OF LUCK BECAUSE OF THE TICKETED DATE WE CHOSE, WE CAUGHT LAST SHOW BEFORE IT CLOSED DUE TO PANDEMIC P2.1HA RESTRICTIONS AGAIN.

Accompanied by Julian Wong on the piano, Pam Oei is the consummate performer. She owned that stage. Julian and Pam have a good chemistry together that really carried the show well.  Dancer Gino Babagay doubles up as Pam's dresser. It was quite fun to see how the show split itself into such a thing of 'leveling up' of how one becomes a 'faghag'. We hit Level 9. 

The one segment that threw me off was Pam's description of the birth of her son. I was like... what. I didn't think it fit the show, but if this is a narrative centered around Pam's life, then I suppose I can vaguely see a link. In how the next generation should be taught neutrality and not judge people with biases. The real, actual huge watermelon that was used in this segment was sanitized and given away to a member of the audience. That tickled me to no end.

I don't know who would buy tickets to such a show, but I thought it was preaching to the converted. Given its material, it's unlikely to reach wider audiences or those who don't stand with the LGBTIQA+ community. There's a whole lot centered around Pink Dot and the efforts to repeal Section 377A. This is a show that's hard to travel outside of Singapore, not even regionally. This is very local and too many Singaporean references are used, since the material is totally drawn from Pam's growing-up years. 

The show is rather politically incorrect, to put it mildly. Today, nobody is going to randomly term themselves 'faghags' or call someone a 'fag-got', which are super derogatory in today's terms. I honestly wouldn't care about history if I hear someone using it. Like what Pam said, only the old people would know, and perhaps they are the ones who can and will use the terms. I'm not sure about that. That's not really a good thing. 

But to have a show like this (genre and script) staged, it is an achievement in our staid censorship rules. But if FAGHAG's intention is to reminisce about the history of LGBTQIA+ activism in Singapore through Pam Oei's personal experiences as an ally and her own activism, then yes, the show achieved that.