ACTION Theatre presents
SHOCKS & SHIOK!
A Singapore Halloween Double Bill
Vampire Monologues by Gary Ow
The Patient by Dennis ChewOctober 22 to November 1, 2009
8pm daily plus 10.30pm on Fri & Sat
No performance on Mon
The Room Upstairs @ ACTION Theatre’s 42 Waterloo StreetHalloween in Singapore will never be the same again! ACTION Theatre proudly presents first-of-its-kind Halloween theatre – Singapore style! Hilarious, haunting and spine-chilling, SHOCKS & SHIOK! is a double bill of two original plays about Asian ghosts, Ang Moh Vampires and Singaporeans who happen to cross their paths!
VAMPIRE MONOLOGUES
A finalist and a big hit with the audience at Theatre Idols 2009, VAMPIRE MONOLOGUES tells a riotous tale about Bob, a Singapore bartender who willingly lets himself be turned into a vampire in the hope of becoming a top comedian! With the help of Victor, a charismatic but very cunning Vampire, Bob learns to master his newly acquired “vampiric” powers, relish in them and eventually discovers how much he’s willing to give up to get laughs from his audiences!THE PATIENT
Inspired by a true story, THE PATIENT is a riveting and chilling play about an aged Singapore man and a rookie Shanghainese nurse. From his hospital bed, the grouchy old man claims that vicious ghosts are after his life. Whenever there’s blood in his urine, they appear. Is he lying to get the attention from the nurse, the only living soul left in this world who still bothers to listen to what he has to say? Or is he suffering for real? Praised for its well drawn characters and adept social commentary, this finalist from Theatre Idols 2009 is a Halloween must-see!
.
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainmentfeatures/view/1013074/1/.html>
.
While the Chinese have their Hungry Ghost festival for spooks, the Americans have their own fun during Halloween. This halloween, even us Singaporeans will have our fair share of fun with dress-up parties, perhaps no trick or treating, but also Spooks and Shiok!
.
Portraying Caucasian vampires, Asian ghosts, and Singaporean, these theatre productions clearly shows the distinction of the rightful places of these characters. In the play “Vampire Monologues”, the mythical creatures invented by Western cultures are played by Caucasian actors and in “The Patient”, the ghosts which represents Singapore’s culture and the Chinese Hungry Ghost festival, are played by Asians. However the link of both plays involves Singaporeans, showing how us Singapore retain our own cultures, yet are also susceptible to Culture imperialism – influenced by the Western cultures.
.
The appearance of the Vampires clearly shows the influence of the Western cultures into Singapore’s way of thinking. Vampires, clearly a media product of Western cultures, shows the one-way flow of international media products into smaller nations such as Singapore. As we accept this media product, there is often bound to lead to dilution of our own culture; yet, the theatrical production of “Vampire Monologues” is juxtaposed with “The Patient”, clearly showing the retention of Singapore own cultural with the Asian ghosts and all.
.
Even as seen in the poster for these productions, the Caucasian Vampire is placed beside the Asian nurse, clearly bringing across the ideas of “East meets West” and also the obvious influence of the Western cultures in our society which is also effectively shown by this media product – “Shocks and Shiok!” is a local production.
.
As mentioned by Crispian Chan in the article, “Asian ghosts will probably scare the living daylights out of everyone – living or dead,” and “The Western genre is more fantastical or they are more seductive… they are more of a visual spectacle so they aren’t as scary.” This fusion of the Asian and Western culture would definitely bring a new level of spooks and scare this halloween.
.
On top of this theatrical production, the mere idea of Halloween itself (which these productions choose to screen play over this period) also shows the idea of Cultural Imperialism. Halloween is a day celebrated by the West, but is not a widespread holiday in Singapore. However, Halloween is gradually finding a place in Singapore’s culture which is also shown by how the media capitalize on the day for media products – these theatrical production. On top of that, there are also many businesses, like clubs, bars, or costume stores, which capitalizes on these day – an influence of the West, for economical reasons.
.
Whether we are or not susceptible to this Cultural Imperialism, it does not really matter to me. With this influence, we get another day to enjoy and party for. Halloween, anyone dressing up as a sexy Vampire or some Chinese ghost this year? Or shall we hop over to catch “Spooks and Shiok!” for a night of scare?
Anyone wants to join me? 
♥ junying
Hello!
It is indeed fasinating to see the east meets west kind of culture infusion. It is very relevant especially during the process of globalization as it can cater to any kinds of people regardless of their origins. The strange thing is that I never thought Asian ghosts will scare the daylight out opf people. Are they that frightening if they are man-made? Hmm…
I like Western ones better though because they have much better effects and props that look so real. As we get more westernized (or should i say more globalised?), we have somewhat merge different kinds of celebrations together. In other words, we celebrate anything that we deem as fun or meaningful instead of going according to just our cultures alone. A good thing about SG is that we can celebrate anything we like. However, I feel that Halloween is just another idea by the retailers to increase their sales. It is not a common celebration for all.
Rmb to comment on mine too!
Hi Jun Yin!
Yes I agree with you that western influence has been very prominent in Singapore! And like you said, just the celebration of Halloween itself shows cultural imperialism as Halloween is a very western celebration. Another business that captializes on this spooky occasion would be that of Night Safari, which plants ‘ghosts’ and ‘ghouls’ all over the night trails to frighten visitors.
While western culture has definitely penetrated our society, I am sure glad that we have managed to maintain and not completely lose our own cultural objects of fright. Even though the theatrical production added in Vampires into the scene they did not leave out our very own version of spooks. I do hope that in the future, the whole world will not just adopt one culture because that might that might be to dull due to lack of diversity.
I agree with Crispian Chan though, that Asian ghosts will scare the daylights out of everyone. I honestly think that Asian ghosts are in fact more frightening than western ones.
Perhaps that’s is why Asian cultures create far better horror movies than Western ones. But I actually believe that this is due to the different cultures they have. Notice that Western movies are more of a psychological thriller while most Asian movies involves creature of the undead such as ghosts coming back for revenge. I believe this shows a difference in our cultures that most people in Western cultures in fact do not believe in the in tangible idea of ghosts and perhaps are less superstitious than those in the Western cultures.
Hey!
Yeah, I think it’s quite interesting to have a west meets east theme in this year’s halloween since it’s something that has never been done before. It is a mixture of two different cultures this time round which i think it’s a great idea. Although there are many differences among the two cultures, I feel that it is the differences that will heighten the success of the performance. Simply because the differences will complement watch other. the asian ghosts will be more frightening, definitely and the western side will provide more creativity and novelty. Thus, I feel that a mixture of different cultures can be good, as long as it brings out the right effect.
interesting theme.the difference between the two is that the western ones have better props, effects and the eastern ones have better storylines. western movies such as the ring are scarier because of the effect but eastern ones such as shutter are equally scary because of the development of the story which more or less makes up for the effects. maybe one day we will see ju-on together with dracula in a movie? i would put a bet on that happening.
Plus the words used, shock and shiok. Shiok is distinctly Singaporean, no doubt about that. Hence in this instance it also uses verbal communication, playing on both phonemes and semantics, using 2 words which sounds the same and has the same meaning to portray the stark differences of the 2 culture once again.
Then again, do you think it’s bias of Crispian Chan to favour the western ghouls better by using vampires which are sexy and enigmatic creatures, while using creepy ghosts which basically scares the daylights of everyone else. They can always do a swap and use some sexy female seductive ghost in red (which has captivated men before!!) and using some disfigured spirit to depict the westernized end.
Also, why is it that the director uses a Chinese ghost to represent Singapore instead of a mixture of both Chinese and Malay spirits, since the Malay spirits are more known for their viciousness.
Anyway, its interesting how you have cleverly used this ad to bring out the differences and also ties in with the halloween mood!
Hey… Just to provide another perspective.. do you think that perhaps sometimes, businesses, organizations or individuals tend to preserve their cultural roots in order to make a profit? For example, in order to gain greater popularity among people from different cultural backgrounds (like in Singapore context), these organizations or individuals may incorporate different cultures into their products. Their motives may not be just to highlight the fusion of Western and Eastern cultures and to show the preservation of cultural roots. =)
very interesting to see a mixture of western and chinese culture, but i’m a little skeptical about the plot that merges the 2 together, may seem a little too much. nonetheless, i think the makeup for the promotional poster’s awesome(:
Just to clarify, the plot does not merge 2 cultures together. The 2 cultures are performed in 2 different plays, but are shown concurrently as a production for halloween.
hi!
This is a very innovative play which clearly shows how much we are influenced by Western culture. The fact that you can see people dressing up in fancy costumes and celebrating Halloween somehow shows that we are unknowingly adopting the Western culture. This might be good as we are exposed to different cultures and this can broden our horizons. However, this can also lead to the dilution of our own culture and creation of a pseudo culture. Thus, i think that it will be good if we can achieve a balance between both.
Yeah i see EAST meets WEST, it is like a combination of both cultures.
I remembered watching this news on the halloween costumes people wore when they visit Singapore Museum on Oct 31st. This shows that it is gradually influencing the Singapore’s culture and Singaporean are influenced by the western culture.
Both Halloween and the Hungry Ghost Festival have different purposes in celebrating it so I actually don’t see the link between them.
I don’t celebrate halloween though i thought it will be fun to dress up and scare the daylights out of people haha!
This shows that most Singaporeans still don’t understand the meaning behind western festivals and celebrations.
Anyway it sounds like a nice play to watch! =)
I believe that the link between Halloween and the Hungry Ghost Festival is due to the scary connotations it has and the idea of the realm of the undead and the underworld. Because I believed that Halloween used to be dressing up as scary creatures and the time for telling horror stories and having ghost tours, that’s why the scary craved pumpkins. But also do you guys realise that over time, this holiday of Halloween has changed and people no long dress up as scary creatures, but instead use this time to dress sexily (for girls). The true meaning of halloween is also lost through the changing culture over time.
The western vampire vs the more modernised eastern ghosts. Hmm sounds cool, as much as i dislike watching horror shows, this play seems to have enticed me abit. So like you just said, why must the caucasians be the vampire and the people from the east be depicted as the ghost, this may be irrelevant but there are chinese vampires and “ang moh” ghosts.
Though I do agree on your sentence about the Asians being more horror and the Western culture of horror films being more seductive.
good work, keep it up and in case there is a need I wouldn’t mind catching Shocks and Shioks with you if it is still on.
Hi Junying!
Just to comment on the print ad of this event, if I were to see the poster only, sad to say, I will not be attracted to watch the show, despite the colourful attention grabbing graphics and phrases of promises of laughter. It was only after reading the details, then it got my attention. Although I agree that if the information were to be placed on the poster itself, it won’t become too wordy and not attractive. There were lack of details such as the price also.
Regarding the content of the play, I agree with you that Singapore has been greatly westernised through the mass media. Vampires, believed more in US, is a symbolic example, as more would expect Singapore, a more asian society would believe more in Jiang Si (chinese version of vampires.) Perhaps the reason for the choice of the vampire was also because of the targeted audience in mind. Could they be targeting the expatriates in Singapore who we know follow the art scene more closely than Singaporeans. And the fact that there is an increasing number of American expatriates in Singapore also makes you realise, could the reason for the flow of Americanised content in Singapore be because of them? In addition, like you mention, why are Singaporeans celebrating Halloween (US culture) when we don’t even believe in it, or practice it fully (door to door trick or treating), another example of US media influence.
HEY! As you know, I LOVE Vampires or anything that has to do with vampires. Too bad we couldn’t go for a halloween party this year!
When I look at the poster, I am drawn to find out more about the play. Of course, knowing that I like vampires, this isn’t exactly surprising. Of course the juxtaposition of the Western vampire and Chinese Nurse clearly draws my attention even more. Moreover the title of Shocks and Shioks immediately links the story to a local context and one will be curious to find out more.
Furthermore I also agree on how the idea of Halloween is a sign of Singapore’s culture being much more Westernized. Though I believe that the many American shows on TV (like my favourite American Idol and Project Runway) has caused a great influence on our own culture as we are drawn into the worlds of America through these shows.
I see this as a failure of combining eastern and western culture. From the start, Halloween did not originate to celebrate ghosts, unlike the Hungry Ghost Festival. Secondly, failure in pulling off a fantastic combination only results in portraying both cultures in bad light. Halloween is all about tricks or treats and costume parties, and what Singapore needs to do is accept Halloween as the fantastic way it’s supposed to be and not to convert it into some joke culture of its own.
This is a reply to the person who comment above. (clouds)
Actually, Halloween WAS to celebrate sometime like ghost, and not what we see nowadays of just dressing up and costume parties. Halloween USED to be a time to dress up as scary creatures, tell ghost / scary stories, and take ghost tours or do anything to scare yourself. So in a way Halloween does celebrate something of the realm of the dead or otherwise undead (vampires, zombies).
Of course the Hungry Ghost Festival has a totally different meaning to it and a story to tell. But I believe your ignorance in the true meaning of Halloween has led to your unfair judgement of this nicely put together play.
In fact, I feel that this play doesn’t really bring in the idea of the Hungry Ghost Festival, but it was merely mentioned briefly in the article when introducing this play.
So the play just attempts to show the idea of the difference in what the Western society deems as scary and what our traditional society sees as objects of fear. Which I find pretty amazing in showing how Singapore is slowly being influenced by the Western’s culture. And no, there is not culture joke in Singapore’s way of accepting Halloween, at least not in this play. If you were to say that there is a joke of Halloween, it would be the way people make use of Halloween to dress in sexy clothes, deeming them as a costume. It’s how people make use of Halloween and sex it, commercialising in it that turnH Halloween into a joke.
hello junying!
Oh man! I’ve been craving to go watch Shocks and Shioks but just can’t find the time! One of the stories in S & S is being written by Chong Qing!
I agree with you that it’s indeed East meets West. I feel that the poster is really captivating, with the western vampire and the asian nurse! It’s so cool!
I don’t agree with some of the comments made above. I feel that the combination of the western and asian ghost stories is definitely perfect! Of course, with the integration of western culture into Singapore, even theatrical productions will see that happening. However, I think it’s rather subjective because some people may view it as a perfect combination of both cultures while others might view it as a clash of cultures.
Halloween is slowly becoming a popular festival here in Singapore! Look at Sentosa Spooktacular and the Halloween celebrations at Night Safari! They are all so cool.
=) Kai Ting
I feel that cultural imperialism has influenced our culture in Singapore, such as people celebrating Halloween here even though most of us do not know the actual meaning behind it. Halloween was supposed to be a religious festival that has Celtic roots but it has become secularized over time, just like Christmas. On the other hand, the Hungry Ghost Festival is still very much a religious festival, even though it has somewhat become part of Singapore’s culture. Personally, I do not mind the influx of Western influence on our culture, as long as we retain our roots and not completely lose our own identity. However, I never had much interest in the macabre hence I never took part in any ‘ghost-related activities”.