She was carrying off dishes and disturbing my dinner, so I picked her up and say chop chop chop helicopter. And set her down chopper style on the sofa – not too long of a flight, that chable is getting heavy – away from my food. Later she came up to me and say I want Harry Potter! Oh wow, she knows the character? I picked up her and say ok you are flying on a broomstick! And it only hit me later, she was actually saying..
When I am asked, I always say my favourite musical is “天冷就回来“ which came out in 2007; I caught it every time it was rerun. Well, no more. This is my new number one.
“Secondary: The Musical” is that awesome, the songs that touching, the choreography that brilliant, the cast and acting that wonderful, the humour that sublime. And the emotions evoked are that.. ok, I’m running out of superlatives.
But at the heart of it are the stories – about an idealistic teacher struggling with her students, about struggling students and about the educational system and exploring and critiquing it. Hold on. Is this another play about struggling students and idealistic teachers? Do we need another one? Yes, it is. And yes, we do.
You laugh along with the students who talk like yourself and your friends in school, at the teachers’ illogic logic, at the absurdities of the rules written and unwritten, at the jokes which you recognise because hey we all were students in Singapore schools once upon a time, at the Singlish so real and cutting (and making you realise just how efficient our mother tongue is and also making you wonder why it’s always so fun and funny having it spoken out loud on stage). You laugh and yet you feel the tears well too.
I was a teacher once upon a time and it resonates so hard and hurts so much – in certain spots and in all the right places. Oh! How do they know these happened to me? Aren’t the memories long lost and buried? The home visit which unveiled A Very Complicated Family Situation, the bitter regret in deciding to retain her for one more year (just one more year! it’s for her own good!) because of what it led to, the journalling and the unintended hilarious diary entries and my attempts to keep a poker face when penning my replies. And it led me to reflect, again, as teachers, how much power we had, how little power we had, and how in thrall we were to the powers-that-be – all the powers all at the same time.
You aren’t a teacher? Doesn’t matter. You will still love Secondary, such is the primacy of its message. After all everyone, as students and parents, has been in the system and through it. You will understand the Truth of the Matt and terrors of the D.M. and you will sayang all the characters in the end – even if you, like me, don’t get what ‘drip’ means the first time.
For Deaf friends: Every show is captioned; the captions – superbly and subtly done – appear on a dedicated yet discreet screen in the centre of the stage. It scores an A – fully accessible for the Deaf/hard of hearing yet can be ignored by hearing audience. But it seems to me the captions, or some, are designed to be read by everyone and intended to be part of the joke (such as “multi-pawn”!).
Get tickets here. Let me know if you are going and need company; I’m more than happy – overjoyed in fact – to watch it with you and to have the chance to watch it again. Update: I’m catching it one more time with a friend!
Dakota Dreams, a cosy and charming one-of-a-kind bookshop, is holding a pre-renovation sales now.
Where? At 51 Old Airport Rd, #02-55 – above the famous Old Airport Road hawker centre; the entire place will close for renovations from 1 June to 30 September 2024. (Check out the ST story on the bookshop.)
Softcover and children’s books $1 each; and hardcovers for $2 each. Dun say I nair share lobang. Buy buy buy!
So happy to run into Mr Fong and Wai Han (my former bosses and bosses of the bookshop) and Mr Lau (in blue)
It’s supposed to be single-use, I think. But made of quality plastic and cute and there has to be a use for it. Finally found its calling after languishing for four months on my (increasingly cluttered) desk, having travelled all the way from the night market at Tun Tuanku Bujang Square.
Please hor. Thor and Aquaman have nothing on Ghostie’s weapon.
Usually I try my best to align orbits and schedules such that I go down to the office as infrequently as possible. When I can siam, I siam. Because it’s as far as Neptune and because my soul dies a little more every peak-hour crush (and souls are fragile and finite things).
Usually I only step into Sheng Siong to restock groceries. Otherwise it’s a no-go zone due to the ridiculous endless aisles of potato chips – and containing nothing but various brands of potato chips – and too-much-sugar soft drinks and zero-sugar herbal drinks and/but (respectively) marked up at ridiculous prices.
Usually I visit the library only once in a half a dozen blue moons. Because ebooks and websites and fingertips.
These are unusual times though. (And, more pertinently, I do not have aircon at home.)
It has been a long while since I have had to step into a clinic. Not I’m exceptionally healthy, just work-from-home arrangements – that revolutionary productivity hack – allowed me to deal with niggling headaches and pains without recourse to medical attention. But the full works descended upon me – fatigue, fever, headache, body aches, sore throat, runny nose, and the very real feeling of existential doom. And it was a shocker to get the bill. Food delivery charges was another stunner. Not least, how slowly the recovery is going is yet one more smack in the face.
Apocalypse Later 