Set in the fictional Trinity Girls School, Normal by acclaimed playwright Faith Ng tells the story of two schoolgirls, Daphne (played by Audrey Teong) and Ashley (played by Claire Chung), from the Normal (Academic) stream and what it means to be ‘normal’. Normal explores the pain and struggles that students have to cope with when trying to find their place in world while being bogged down by the expectations of society, teachers and their parents. It is a heartfelt piece that will surely resonate soundly with those who have been through the Singapore education system.
The story begins midway through the academic year with the introduction of new form teacher Ms Sarah Hew (played by Oon Shu An) who begins her teaching career as a Secondary Five Normal(Academic) Literature teacher and is deemed perfect for the job with her stellar qualifications. The play also charts the changes in Ms Hew, idealistic and unsure of her place in the school, as she navigates the teacher-student and teacher-teacher relationships with hope, uncertainty, disdain, resignation and confidence.
As much as the play is about the students, it also offers a perspective of what goes on in the teachers’ lounge: of both the camaraderie and rivalry, between veteran teachers who have gotten used to the “system” and young teachers whose mere entrances may either reinforce or jeopardise the balance of the system that the veterans are familiar with. The play explores the questions of what the extent of a teacher’s role in the education system is, what it will take and how a teacher decides whether to innovate or toe the line when it comes to nurturing his or her students?
Very early on in the show, the playwright explains the public perception of students placed in the Special, Express and Normal education stream through the metaphor of various types of Barbie dolls. It serves as an excellent preamble to an honest and brutal recurring motif in the play about how Normal (Academic) students are judged and treated by those around them, and at most times unfairly so because of “a mistake” they committed when they were 12.
Though the cast solely comprises students and teachers, the voices of the unseen parents of Ashley and Daphne are elucidated through conversations of the cast. Harsh and armed with high expectations of their children, we gain a deeper understanding of the level of pressure the main characters are placed under. How do parents deal with their children who have been deemed as under-performing? Granted the writing offered a limited take on family support, I cannot help but wonder how the two girls would have turned out had their parents chosen to embrace their children’s achievements, or lack thereof, in a different manner.
The set was absolutely brilliant, using see-through screens that acted both as blackboards and walls that divided the stage into the main classroom and the school corridors. The ensemble would pace up and down the latter to simulate background school activities amidst familiar sounds heard in the school compound such as the school bell, clock and cheerleading activities on the field. The cosy setting of the Drama Centre Black Box made the soundscape even more pronounced, from the hurrying feet to the energetic cheers of the students, and greatly immersed the audience in the school setting.
Well-timed and portrayed by a stellar cast (including Noorlinah Mohamed, Zee Wong, Lim Shi-An and Karen Tan) and ensemble, Checkpoint Theatre’s Normal is a uniquely Singaporean play that challenges its viewers to examine and reflect on the education system, and what the associated labels do to shape the perception of people who have fallen through the cracks.
The writing deftly draws its viewers deep into the heart of the characters, to understand their thoughts and motivations, and to make you feel for their joy and anguish. While the thought-provoking play offered no definite answers, it certainly left a strong impression on me to rethink my personal perspective on what it means to be ‘normal’.
Where: Drama Centre Black Box, Singapore
When: 9 April to 19 April 2015
Tickets are sold out.
