22- Gruesome Playground Injuries

   Hold me close, then jam your thumb in my eye. Yup, love can deranged.

My previous entry was on how I managed to run my way through Singapore, watch a terrific Matchbox Twenty Concert, and run back. I did mention in passing that I had gotten the chance to visit Esplanade Theatres during that trip to Singapore with my friend Josephine to watch a play called, "Gruesome Playground Injuries". That's one thing I am glad I decided to do. 

I remember one pre-trip discussion I had with Josephine. She told me that there would be this stage play "Gruesome Playground Injuries" which would be staged while I was in town, and that watching it fit in with my schedule. This, in a sense, was indie theatre, experimental performance art- or at least to me it was. 

Josephine bought me tickets in advance of my flight to Singapore, and we were off.

Without prior research, I had made the silly assumption of GPI being a play more about a murder than a love story per se. Watching the final Singapore staging for 2013 1 hour and 30 minutes of unbridled fun, and, really, a reminder. It was a reminder that sometimes, people get so caught up in society "branding" the process behind finding "the one" so much that they don't realize that what they're looking for is right in front of them.

Why keep hankering for pizza when you've got a gourmet calzone on your plate, right?

Seriously, though, I hope they stage this play in the Philippines. If they do, it might have to be in PETA or in the University of the Philippines given that society here tends to be "ironically" conservative. I think Filipinos would appreciate the main themes at on the table here- love, loss, being lost, and after a couple of swift blows to the head, being "found" again.

From the Esplanade Website:

"A sweet, delicate and very funny play.”—British Theatre Guide

“Superb…funny and tender.”—Time Out London

In Gruesome Playground Injuries, Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph has crafted one of the most startingly original and entertaining pieces of theatre in recent memory.
We follow two individuals, Kayleen (Seong Hui Xuan – Pangdemonium’s Rabbit Hole) and Doug (Alan Wong – The MTV Show) from age eight to 38, leaping back and forth over the course of their lives in a deliriously disjointed time-continuum. Doug is full of life and absurdly “accident-prone” while Kayleen hates her life and hides a painful secret. As they careen and collide into and out of each other’s lives, they become damaged goods for life, but are forever bonded by bloodstains, broken bones and bandages.

While examining these two lost soul mates in search of each other, we discover a powerful and surprising tribute to the human spirit. Gruesome Playground Injuries is hilarious, humane, and haunting.

When in Singapore, there seem to be a lot of people who discount the country's culture in favor of shopping, clubbing, and yes, Sentosa. Singapore has a lot to offer in terms of arts and culture too- if you take time to examine things more closely. You can take a bite out of the country's culture via its vibrant food scene, or, like I did, take in a good stage play. You won't regret having done it.

More on this trip, and others I've been been on, soon.

MC