National Language Class by Spell#7

Caught this play at Esplanade Theatre Studio last night. Performed by Yeo Yann Yann and Noor Effendy Ibrahim, this proved to be the best local production which I have watched so far this year. What is man? and Like Shadows were kick-ass awesome but they are not local, so they don't count.

Spoiler alert! Do not read further if you are watching it tonight or on Saturday night.

The play starts off with Yeo Yann Yann welcoming the students into the National Language Class, which is essentially Bahasa Melayu. She was speaking Mandarin and invited audience to translate for the non Chinese speaking audience. Now did I ever mention that Yeo Yann Yaan is my favourite actress in local theatre? Go catch her in action, you won't be disappointed. Li Xie is good too, but I feel that she is a better director/ scriptwriter than actress, and she is more limited to the Chinese theatre, while Yann Yann is very bilingual.

Ok I digressed. Anyway, Yann Yann welcomed the teacher into the class, who was Noor Effendy. He wrote the date on the board, which was 7 December 1959, and several lines of Malay on the board: ’siapa nama kamu?’ (what is your name?) and ‘di-mana awak tinggal?’ (where do you live?)

The audience were made to practise with each other, pronouncing the words as best as we could replicate the sounds and breaking into random giggling and laughter from time to time. At that point of time, Noor was speaking Malay throughout and I couldn't even make out what the two statements were, and only guessed that the first was about asking what is your name, from his hand gestures.

Although di-mana awak tinggal? means where do you live?, as the literal translation goes, I was wondering whether it could mean where are you from? One speaks of a location, and the other one speaks of an identity, which could or could not possibly exist in our languages, and the nuances of our accents. It is probably not just what we speak, as well as what we choose to, or not to speak.

It was a humbling experience to fumble all over our National Language. We have been too comfortable, for too long, to reside in the Anglo-centric environment, that we demand translations whenever the language isn't what we know. Why is that ever an obligation in the first place, for others to accommodate and to speak our language? The English-by-default model of communications was devised with much political intervention and was not an organic process of how the use of our languages evolved on this little island of ours.

This play was inspired by the painting National Language Class painted by local artist Chua Mia Tee.

Chua Mia Tee, National Language Class, 1959, 112 x 153 cm, oil on canvas. Source: Kwok 1996, p. 71.

There were so much references made in the play to this painting, that I made up my mind to read up on this painting. The round table, the square table, the window, the painting and so on.
Thanks glazzal for posting this link, with an excellent analysis and interpretation of the painting's historical context.

With my limited knowledge of the history, I was thinking through the various transitions of our national identity - from the loyalty to China during British colonial era, to the awakening and desire to build Malaya after Japanese Occupation. Now, we seem to have a National Language of English and we are in denial, for we have ruthlessly erased off Malaya off our faces, and blood. Contrary to popular opinions, the main Barisan Socialis leaders such as Lim Chin Siong were far from being Chinese chauvinists. He was one of the Chinese leaders who actively learned Malay, and strongly advocate using Malay to unite the different races in Singapore.

The play was flooded with liberal use of abstract symbolism - not a good recipe for a tired working personnel on Thursday night. However, at one moment, both Yann Yann and Noor were talking - their mouths moved and yet no sound came out.

They were silent. Or rather, I think, silenced.

I froze in my seat. This must be the most powerful moment of the entire play.

Go buy tickets if you haven't watched it. It is still on today and tomorrow.