MKA started two years ago with the brief of bringing us the best new writing for the stage. Sex.violence.blood.gore is certainly that. Singaporean playwright Alfian bin Sa'at takes his country's turbulent history of repression and weaves a poetic, hilarious, deeply affecting and decidedly queer suite of scenarios from it. It's a terrific play, and compulsory viewing for anyone serious about theatre.
Singapore has gone from malaria-infested swamp to economic powerhouse in a matter of generations, but the cost to personal liberties has been high. Lee Kuan Yew's authoritarian legacy haunts the action, as does the terror of Japanese occupation, the yoke of British colonisation, and contemporary ethnic and racial conflict in south-east Asia. Full review
