what does it mean to be happy in singapore? 🤧

i'm still emotional about this even though the play happened last thursday 😖 was thankfully invited down to the opening night of The Fourth Trimester and i genuinely enjoyed every moment of the night!

📍The Fourth Trimester by Faith Ng

4 - 14 August 2022

Drama Centre Theatre, National Library Singapore

Tickets: $40 - $80, from SISTIC (*discounts are available for bundles, families or students!)

revolving around the vivid, messy embrace of parenthood and family life, the show tells the story of first-time parents and their close friends feeling the strain of family life, all its uncertainties and what it means to be happy in contemporary singapore. running for about 3 hours including a short intermission, this is a hopeful and heartfelt ode to places we call home and the people we call family.

🎟 — pre-play experience

held at the drama centre in NLB, we were greeted by an activity space outside the theatre displaying checkpoint theatre’s previous plays, a booth selling publications, behind the scenes shots from the rehearsal process and an interactive activation seeking inputs on how we can make adulthood easier. we were also greeted super warmly by the checkpoint theatre team (kudos to Jayne and Tricia) who made sure we felt right at home and took the time to explain what each space meant!

it was really interesting to learn that this production marks the theatre's 20th anniversary, which added a further depth of meaning to the experience. we also saw the playwright, Ms Faith Ng getting interviewed!

📽 — watching the play

first of all, stepping into the theatre really made me emotional haha. there's something about the drama centre that makes you feel like you're really walking through a passage that brings you to a new dimension — and i loved how spacious the seating was in the hall. we snapped a few photos of the set onstage and chatted a bit about the props seen — we were particularly intrigued by how the team was able to portray a hdb flat and repurpose it into a void deck simply by reshuffling some blocks onstage.

as the lights dimmed, we were reminded to keep our phones off to immerse ourselves in the exprience fully — and the magic began.

🎞 — post-play thoughts

after almost crying literally quarter-way into the show (and many times thereafter), i came out of the show with a renewed perspective of what it meant to be happy in singapore and how there always seems to be a fixed path to follow: marriage, BTO, child birth, retirement etc. with these constructs in place, it's often easy to then compare how we're doing with people around us and feel stressed when we seem to be moving at a different pace. but what the play reinforced for me was how everyone can choose how happiness and contentment is defined for them — and that we don't have to follow a rite of passage.

even though i'm not exactly in the same phase of life as the actors, i really felt and resonated with their raw portrayal of family, childhood memories and/or trauma and what goes into making a person and their view of the world. if you're currently thinking about what you want in life or about to step into adulthood (like i am), would highly recommend you to take some time off to check this play out!

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