'Pulau Ujong / Island at the End'

I had very much looked forward to catch Alfian Sa'at's 'Pulau Ujong / Island at the End'. I wasn't disappointed. It was excellent! Presented by WILD RICE and directed by Edith Podesta, the play sits in the genre of documentary-theater, bringing to audiences the urgency of the climate crisis and how it affects us intimately. We can't save the world; we can start by keeping our home intact and help it weather the extreme climate changes. (Pun intended.) 

Playwright Alfian Sa'at conducted interviews with "climate scientists, botanists, zoologists, ornithologists, environmental historians and activists." He distilled the information from these interviews into about 50 vignettes to make up the 2.5-hour play — "Their words, wishes and worries for the world take centre stage alongside the more- than-human voices we all need to hear – from zoo mascot Ah Meng to Singapore’s last tiger." 

The cast comprise Al-Matin Yatim, Ryan Ang, Koh Wan Ching, Krish Natarajan, and Siti K. They seemed to have taken on 10 characters each. The parade of little snippets was dazzling. There must have been 50 in total. We heard what the human interviewees have to say, then we had some crazy original lines from Siti K as a Banyan tree, Ryan Ang as a Trumpet Tree, Al-Matin Yatim as the Last Tiger in Singapore, Krish Natarjan as Ah Meng, three actors as the Northeast Monsoon, personified as Gambier and Pepper, etc. There was even a pen-pal exchange between Inuka the Polar Bear (who passed away in 2018) and Sharmila the Dolphin (who was among the 27 captured from the Solomon Islands and brought to RWS Singapore). 

Siti K's portrayal of a Banyan tree and the story she had to tell was simply beautiful. She weaved in an Indonesian folklore 'Bawang Merah Bawang Putih', the version with a fish, fish bones, and had a swing in the tree. There was Koh Wan Ching as a Great Hornbill. Then I had a fit of giggles and just had to google and read up about hornbills in Singapore, especially the piece in 2008 about a pair of female hornbills whose behavior were apparently... "aberrant". 

The creative use of water in the set was brilliant. Set designer is Johanna Pan.  It's not just the sound of the birds and all that audio. The sound of actual water making sounds... that brought the audiences out of the theater and into our natural landscape. I didn't really notice the costumes till later on. I really like that hornbill costume worn by Koh Wan Ching. The program informed me that the costumes were designed by Max Tan. 

The play asked hard questions. It didn't seek to provide answers. There wouldn't be clear answers to be found within this generation. It was a thought-provoking play. It ended on a hopeful note still, in spite of hope being meagre. It reminded us that it will take everyone's effort, no matter how minuscule, to save the environment and mitigate the disastrous effects of climate change. The final vignette held Nature Society incumbent President Dr Shawn Lum's thoughts about their efforts in lobbying the government to keep Dover Forest, and how he had help from everyone and unexpected quarters to conserve Chek Jawa.