Emily of Emerald Hill
… And yet again another story of victimization and tragedy. But, oh joy, it’s so much shorter, and more interesting to read.
Emily was an entertaining and bossy woman of the household. If I were to imagine Emily onstage, it would’ve deviated towards the loud, flamboyant type. A play is not complete without humour. Even Shakespeare’s tragedies contained some form of humour - humour is a necessary ingredient to keep the viewers entertained. Since Emily of Emerald Hill is a one-woman play, the quality of humour must be embodied in her.
For this play, the story ’stuck’. One could believe that she was living on Emerald Hill, all the parties she threw and all the food she made all seemed like what the Peranakans did in the 1930s. Fistful of Colours didn’t ’stick’. The characters were thrown into implausible situations, and they all talked about things that we would never do in reality.
I liked the play. Heh, I suppose Singaporeans have a certain flair for the stage. The Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on JBJ (aka That Political Play) was also quite enjoyable. Rodney was so hot.
Stella Kon also did one major thing: she focused on only one aspect of Singaporean life - the Peranakans. Fistful of Colours attempted to cover everything, making it unfocused and vague. Kon brought us straight to the point, and the entire play was tight and compact. Perhaps it’s the fact that the play was a play. Kon didn’t have the luxury of time, so everything was minimized and was straightfoward. If Lim wrote a play, would it be as equally focused as Stella Kon’s? I don’t know.
But, tragedy is always talk of the day. Son dies, husband leaves her for mistress then dies, the rest of her children don’t want to live in the bigbig house anymore. So she dies a lonely old woman and the play ends with her petting her dead son. If this keeps up, everyone would think Singaporeans die sad, having lived a lonely life fraught with betrayal and tragedy. Aw.
Kon talks about the Peranakan life back then, and makes it believable. She makes history come back to life without making it look like history. She makes it entertaining. Her flashbacks are smooth, the symbolism poignant (like the chair and the pink coat) and the character of Emily herself charismatic and enjoyable.
Yes, I like the play. Score one for Singapore.
