I was glad I managed to get tickets to catch Normal by playwright Faith Ng. Tonight was the final show (which they specially added after tickets to earlier shows sold-out) and the cast gave an impressive performance, pouring their hearts out to the audience.
The play was set in a girls school circa 2004 when the leads were facing the seemingly insurmountable challenge of passing their O' Levels. Coincidentally that was the year I had to take the O' Levels as a student in all-girls school. Watching the play, I recalled my days as a student, the pointless worrying about exams, gossiping about teachers, all the silly antics I got up to with my friends.
While I was not a Normal student, I could most certainly relate to all the pressures of having to excel within Singapore's education system.
The heart-wrenching play left many of the audience members in tears, but I did not cry. I wondered about that. Though admittedly I was schooled in what was (and still is) considered good schools, my grades were absolutely terrible in secondary school and junior college. I can tell you that it sucks to be lousy when you are surrounded by hardworking geniuses and a few mean girls (and boys).
My conclusion is that while I may have felt hurt, pressured, unhappy and stressed-out at different moments of my schooling days, the truth is I have had many carefree and happy moments too. I survived my grueling school years with the help of a few amazing lifelong friends and a great deal of luck.
After the show ended, I got to shake hands with Huzir Sulaiman (Producer) and tell him how much I enjoyed his writing in The Weight of Silk on Skin, so that was nice.
Normal
Event Date: Thu, 9 - Sun, 19 Apr 2015; Tue - Sat: 8pm; Sat & Sun: 3pm
Venue: Drama Centre Black Box
Normal
The play was set in a girls school circa 2004 when the leads were facing the seemingly insurmountable challenge of passing their O' Levels. Coincidentally that was the year I had to take the O' Levels as a student in all-girls school. Watching the play, I recalled my days as a student, the pointless worrying about exams, gossiping about teachers, all the silly antics I got up to with my friends.
While I was not a Normal student, I could most certainly relate to all the pressures of having to excel within Singapore's education system.
The heart-wrenching play left many of the audience members in tears, but I did not cry. I wondered about that. Though admittedly I was schooled in what was (and still is) considered good schools, my grades were absolutely terrible in secondary school and junior college. I can tell you that it sucks to be lousy when you are surrounded by hardworking geniuses and a few mean girls (and boys).
My conclusion is that while I may have felt hurt, pressured, unhappy and stressed-out at different moments of my schooling days, the truth is I have had many carefree and happy moments too. I survived my grueling school years with the help of a few amazing lifelong friends and a great deal of luck.
After the show ended, I got to shake hands with Huzir Sulaiman (Producer) and tell him how much I enjoyed his writing in The Weight of Silk on Skin, so that was nice.
Normal
Event Date: Thu, 9 - Sun, 19 Apr 2015; Tue - Sat: 8pm; Sat & Sun: 3pm
Venue: Drama Centre Black Box
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