For a title, The Campaign To Confer The Public Service Star On JBJ may be flowered with too many words for one to handle in a single breath. But in a play that is fabulously furnished with scintillating text, words seem to be the branch from which all good things come – and rightfully so in this case.

Nominated for Best Original Script and Best Production at this year’s ST Life! Theatre Awards , The Campaign To Confer The Public Service Star On JBJ – first staged at the inaugural Singapore Theatre Festival last year – is an admirably courageous piece that pokes fun at politics in Singapore and all that’s associated with it.

Lawyer and playwright, Eleanor Wong , compiles all the juicy bits of Singapore’s recent social and political history , giving constant reference to the bountiful traits and actions that the local government has been known for or even attacked for, within a story that’s intelligently written and overflowing with witty humour.

Rodney Oliveiro (Spin , Machine) is David Lee, a university student and the president of the Association of Students for Self-expression (ASS). In the 1st act, David embarks in a journey to launch The Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on JBJ – 1 of 2 JBJs we come to know of in the play. He stirs up quite a mess in the eyes of Civil Servant Clara Tang, played by Pam Oei (Dim Sum Dollies, Titoudao ), who, in the 2nd act, tries to clear up the unholy mess that ensues.

Both actors take turns to play the central character in the production’s 2 acts, but when one plays Eleanor’s protagonist, the other supports brilliantly, taking up at least 6 characters that collectively pave the obstacles for either David or Clara in their respective missions.


Eleanor Wong, The Lawyer Indeed

It’s easy to feel from the script a strong sense of the lawyer in Eleanor. The occasional use of religious terms, the forest of thoughts which infer news of a new Singapore Idol judge as one that could assist David in his campaign, and the deep interpretation of situations, obstacles and an 8Days magazine article, exude that characteristic quite clearly.

Even quotes like “maybe Shakespeare asked the most important question of all”, “something needs to be done to prove them wrong” and “even a fool can sense a pattern pitching up here” bring the audience through a journey to the thoughts and argument of an ingenious and tactful plaintiff; and so does David in his pursuit to bring justice to JBJ and Clara in her mission to close the books on the campaign for the safety of the society.

But that’s hardly the icing on that cake. The concept Eleanor’s script adopts of silently addressing political standards through countless underlying messages and hilarious sarcasm is what’s most admirable. “A new chip of the old block”, “infinite past makes present tense”, and “ways of the Elder_ly” are just some of the lines with such hidden meanings. Accompany that with representations of various social and political figures, including one who introduces herself as “good tits, dirty mouth. That’s me” and you’ll be in for 2 hours’ worth of good laughs. It’s amazing how Eleanor’s able to touch on aspects of our society that is deemed by many as politically wrong, but does it with an approach that is almost faultless, quiet, and absolutely politically correct.

This is a story that doesn’t seem to miss out any recent major event in the political scene in Singapore; one that eventually gives the audience enough coverage within a span of 2 hours to judge for themselves what the government and society is like. In this play, Eleanor is the lawyer, the cast and the production team are the witnesses, and we are the jury.

 

Unfortunately…

The drawback, however, to having a script condensed to such a large extent with reference points to actual events, people and facts is the need for research or prior knowledge on the audience’s part before they are able to fully appreciate and understand the play for its every milligram of intelligence.

Plus, fun as the underlying messages were to decode, having them thrown at you one after the other for an entire hour before the interval and for another hour after that can be exhausting after a while, and the abrupt and puzzling death of an individual and the series of codenames used by the characters to address each other in the 2nd act didn’t help the situation. Instead, they made things more confusing.

 

The Dynamic Duo

But all these are silenced by the figuratively loud performances of Pam and Rodney, who dazzled the stage with the right dose of flamboyance and gravity to balance the combination of humour and the heavy subject matter well. Both actors are a joy to watch, especially in their multiple supporting roles. Hats off to Pam when, in the final scene of the 1st act, she pulled off 5 costume changes under 3 minutes with less than 15 seconds for each transition and was still able to distinguish, despite the hectic switch, so clearly the different personalities and characteristics of her roles when the lights come on. That’s most probably what’s most outstanding about Pam and Rodney’s performances – their ability to sink deep into each of their characters and physically transform into them in spite of the fast changeovers.

It is with such demanding sets of characters and the actors’ abilities to pull them off so smoothly and accurately that you know Pam and Rodney are chameleons; and that’s a testimony to director, Ivan Heng ’s artistic vision and ability to deliver and express them through the actors to bring to life the juiciness of the script and the roles that come with it.

 

The Play for Every Singaporean

The Campaign To Confer The Public Service Star On JBJ, is a production that any Singaporean can appreciate and should watch. Well, with the exception of those under 16 years of age, that is, due to a nude scene and the occasional lashing out of vulgarities.

Singaporeans will come to find that whether or not they are pro-government doesn’t really matter with this production. This is not a play that aims to divide the political from the non-political; neither does it classify the political into groups. Rather, with reference to many events and figures that play a role in defining our society, it ignites a sense of patriotism and belonging, even in those who never thought had it in them.

Rating: An easy 4.5 out of 5 stars!!!

Production Details:

Running Time: 2 h 15 min

Cast: Pam Oei and Rodney Oliveiro

Director: Ivan Heng

Playwright: Eleanor Wong

The Campaign To Confer The Public Service Star On JBJ is now showing at the Drama Centre Theatre (National Library, Level 3). The production opened on Sep 21 (with previews on Sep 19 and 20) and closes on Oct 7.

Tickets are being sold at Sistic the following prices:

Preview Shows
(19 & 20 Sep) 8PM
S$48, S$43, S$38, S$33, S$33(Resticted View).

Tues-Thurs 8PM,
Sat & Sun Matinee 3PM
S$53, S$48, S$43, S$38, S$38(Restricted View).

Fri-Sat 8PM
S$58, S$53, S$48, S$43, S$43(Restricted View).

For more information, please visit the Sistic website.