Salam sejahtera, para pembaca setiaku!

Semasa menonton pementasan Merdeka/ 獨立 /சுதந்திரம் ini, jelas ternyata bahawa banyak kajian yang telah dilalukan untuk menjayakan persembahan di W!LD RICE FUNAN itu.

Karya Alfian Sa’at dan Neo Hai Bin bukan sekadar mengajak penonton menjelajah sejarah lebih 200 tahun yang lalu, tapi penonton juga diberi pandangan alternatif akan sejarah yang kita pelajari menerusi buku teks di sekolah. Sksksks. 

6 orang individu dari kumpulan Facebook “Raffles Must Fall” ingin ‘lawan’ penjajahan dan mereka bentangkan sebab masing-masing mengapa mereka ingin lakukannya.

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Was colonialism as benign as Singaporeans were led to believe, and what legacy did it leave behind? Watch our new hit “Merdeka / 獨立 /சுதந்திரம்” grapple with these questions – and more – by re-enacting forgotten episodes from Singapore's past. You’ll be challenged, you’ll be moved, you’ll leave the theatre with a deeper understanding of how Singapura became Singapore. ⁣ Shows are extended till 2 Nov, with tickets still available at SISTIC (direct link in bio).⁣ ⁣ #sgtheatre #singaporehistory #singaporeheritage #singaporebicentennial #sgbicentennial #singaporemuseum

A post shared by WILD RICE @ Funan (@wildricesg) on Oct 15, 2019 at 6:51am PDT

Kisah yang dikongsi begitu rapat dengan mereka kerana bangsa mereka, walaupun telah ditetapkan bahawa konsep ‘bangsa’ itu adalah produk penjajahan.

Dari kisah Puteri Jawa, peristiwa tandatangan treaty dari lensa lain, rusuhan sekolah cina dan bermacam lagi.

Natijahnya, kisah-kisah ini memberi pemahaman dan perskpetif berbeza, yang membuka minda dan membuat penonton berfikir.

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In our new hit "Merdeka / 獨立 /சுதந்திரம்," Zee Wong plays Siew, who in turn has to play a host of characters from Singapore's past, including William Farquhar and a Chinese middle school student from the 1950s. Journey with her and an ensemble of five other actors from Yogyakarta in 1812 to our Padang on that fateful day of 31 August 1963, and you'll see why so many are calling this play a history lesson all Singaporeans should experience for themselves.⁣ ⁣ (part one of six)⁣ ⁣ Shows are extended till 2 Nov, with tickets still available at SISTIC (direct link in bio).⁣ ⁣ #sgtheatre #singaporehistory #singaporeheritage #singaporebicentennial #sgbicentennial #singaporemuseum

A post shared by WILD RICE @ Funan (@wildricesg) on Oct 19, 2019 at 7:55pm PDT

Enam sekawan itu sering setuju dan tidak setuju terhadap idea satu sama lain tentang penjajahan dan anti penjajahan. Dan sering menyoal adakah patut untuk menjatuhkan Raffles?

Seringkali mereka terperangkap kerana mereka sedar bahawa mereka telah gunakan produk penjajahan, sebagai contoh, Bahasa Inggeris untuk saling berbincang dan berbual.

Jadi… bagaimana untuk jadi anti penjajahan ni eh! Konpius!

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In our new hit "Merdeka / 獨立 /சுதந்திரம்," Ghafir Akbar plays Norman, who in turn has to play a host of characters from Singapore's past, including Tengku Hussein and Syed Yasin. Journey with him and an ensemble of five other actors from Yogyakarta in 1812 to our Padang on that fateful day of 31 August 1963, and you'll see why The Straits Times described this play as "a compelling reading of the historical gaps which need to be explored for a fuller representation of the Singapore story".⁣ ⁣ (part two of six)⁣ ⁣ Shows are extended till 2 Nov, with tickets still available at SISTIC (direct link in bio).⁣ ⁣ #sgtheatre #singaporehistory #singaporeheritage #singaporebicentennial #sgbicentennial #singaporemuseum⁣

A post shared by WILD RICE @ Funan (@wildricesg) on Oct 19, 2019 at 7:56pm PDT

Lakonan Brendon Fernandez, Chong Woon Yong, Ghafir Akbar, Rebekah Sangeetha, Umi Kalthum dan Zee Wong amat serasi sekali.

Sungguh terpegun melihat Umi Kalthum menarikan tarian Jawa! Lagi-lagi bila pelakon lain juga kenakan headgear Jawa dan juga pergerakan Jawa! Macam kononnya dibawa ke Indonesia gitew! 

Nyanyian Rebekah Sangeetha mendendangkan lagu Melayu juga amat lunak sekali! Terlena apabila mendengar suara merdunya. Hais merecikz sangat!

Dan… bukan pementasan lah W!LD RICE kalau penonton tak ajak sertai persembahan! Penonton diajak menyeru MERDEKA dalam salah satu babak, lakonan semula ucapan mendiang Lee Kuan Yew. Seronok sangat! Tapi tu lah, penonton cuma menjerit, tak mengangkat tangan mereka. Diriku seperti syiok sendiri…

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In our new hit "Merdeka / 獨立 /சுதந்திரம்," Umi Kalthum Ismail plays Liyana, who in turn has to play a host of characters from Singapore's past, including Tengku Abdul Rahman and Stamford Raffles. Journey with her and an ensemble of five other actors from Yogyakarta in 1812 to our Padang on that fateful day of 31 August 1963, and you'll see why poet Joshua Ip pronounced this play "stuff every Singaporean should have learned in Primary 3" and "the complete opposite of fake news." 🤣⁣ ⁣ (part three of six)⁣ ⁣ Shows are extended till 2 Nov, with tickets still available at SISTIC (direct link in bio).⁣ ⁣ #sgtheatre #singaporehistory #singaporeheritage #singaporebicentennial #sgbicentennial #singaporemuseum⁣

A post shared by WILD RICE @ Funan (@wildricesg) on Oct 20, 2019 at 5:52pm PDT

Dalam tawa, diselitkan kisah-kisah serius yang harus difikirkan serta isu-isu seharian yang masih wujud dalam masyarakat majmuk ini. Macam perkauman, isu keadilan jantina and those SJW realness things. Apa yang menarik sekali tentang Merdeka/ 獨立 /சுதந்திரம் adalah… penonton dijemput untuk melihat ‘muzium peribadi’ mereka setelah persembahan!!! Wei gerek sehhhhhh. Segala prop yang digunakan boleh dilihat, dan bolehlah berIG di situ! I suke sangat. Memang pengalaman teater yang menyeluruh! Kepada yang tak dapat beli tiket, mungkin boleh cuba seludup masuk teater bila dah habis pementasan untuk lihat muzium itu? Hmm… kalau nak lah ea?

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In 2011, Alfian Sa'at took the pulse of the populace before the General Elections in “Cooling Off Day”. In 2015, he reclaimed history omitted by SG50 with “Hotel”. This year, he will respond to another official milestone, the SG Bicentennial, with “Merdeka / 獨立 /சுதந்திரம்”.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Ever since Alfian’s first poetry collection “One Fierce Hour” galvanised a new generation of readers in 1998, he has been a prominent participant in the city’s cultural and intellectual life. His incisive commentaries on sociopolitical issues are much shared and debated over – online and IRL. Having won 4 ST Life! Theatre Awards out of the 11 times he was nominated, he is one of our country’s foremost dramatists. No understanding of Singapore can be complete without reading his writings and watching his plays.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ “Merdeka / 獨立 /சுதந்திரம்”, co-written with Neo Hai Bin, promises new insights while showcasing Alfian’s more experimental sensibilities, melding percussion, song and dance with the polemics we have come to expect, together with the unforgettable drama, the passionate engagement and the searing pathos.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Opening this week, with tickets now available at SISTIC.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ #sgtheatre #singlit #singaporehistory #singaporeheritage #singaporebicentennial #sgbicentennial #singaporemuseum

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Sebelum ini, Alfian Sa’at juga pernah menulis karya yang memberi pandangan berbeza terhadap sejarah Singapura. Seperti Hotel dan Geng Rebut Cabinet. Yang mencetus perbincangan, of course as always.

Tahun ini, terdapat beberapa pementasan yang membincangkan ‘perayaan’ Dwiabad Singapura.

Kupasan: Civilised oleh The Necessary Stage https://t.co/whfXSrdqT9 pic.twitter.com/eVQEZKK28N

— Pengkritik Sandiwara (@Pengkritique) May 19, 2019

The Necessary Stage telah adakan pementasan Civilised, mengupas tentang jajahan moden.

Merdeka/ 獨立 /சுதந்திரம் telah dilanjutkan sehingga 2 November. Cepat beli tiket!!!! Jangan terlepas, ea.

⭐️: 4.2/5

– Pengkritik Sandiwara

Bacalah lagi!

Geng Rebut Cabinet https://t.co/GTQKsEZxHl pic.twitter.com/20oaPWFzzm

— Pengkritik Sandiwara (@Pengkritique) December 12, 2015

Singapore Theatre Festival: Hotel https://t.co/Zag26pXV7m pic.twitter.com/aAAcvZFKy8

— Pengkritik Sandiwara (@Pengkritique) July 17, 2016