Few Singaporeans would be unfamiliar with the play Emily of Emerald Hill. Originally written by Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill is a one-woman play about a nyonya matriarch who dominates and devotes herself to her family, and yet in the end, finds that she loses what she loves most. The play won the First Prize in Singapore’s National Play-Writing Competition in 1983. Since then, it has been staged more than a hundred times, by eight different performers – seven women and one man – in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Hawaii, and Edinburgh.
Emily of Emerald Hill has been remade to become the opening play of a soon-to-be series of plays that is part of the project called ”Comfort Theatre: The Off Central Performances”, starring Laura Kee and directed by Sharmila Melissa Yogalimgan. Inspired by the American “Off Broadway” series, the series is presented by Dessert Wine, a Singapore-based media business in order to move theatre away from the usual central district and bring iconic plays to the neighbourhood. This is a shift for Singapore theatre, as it allows people to believe, and know, that theatre can indeed be for everyone, down to the grassroots and the masses.
Laura Kee is the lead and only actress in the whole play; being completely natural and responding to the (non-existent) side characters becomes a challenge for her. She attempts to use larger movements and acting techniques to bring out the liveliness of the character’s monologue, which sometimes work in her favour but also backfire. We had a chat with Laura to find out her thoughts on the role.
Asia 361: The protagonist in the story is a matriarch. How do you think this concept will be received/understood by the local audience?
Laura: Although Singapore society is largely patriarchal, I think the local audience will be receptive and open to Emily, the Peranakan matriarch in the story. Women are lauded if they are submissive, good wives and mothers, and cook for their families, and Emily does fulfil most of the criteria of a good woman, with the exception of being a fully submissive woman.
Asia 361: What are some major challenges you have in getting into this role? Would you say it is one of the more personally difficult roles?
Laura: This is definitely one of my most challenging roles to date. Firstly, the technical aspects of having to memorise a lengthy monologue, and sustaining the energy for a two-hour performance, are both very challenging. Because it is a one-woman play, I can rely on no one else but myself, so I also need to feed off the energy of the audience, who become my ‘co-actors’ in this production. My main challenge is to keep the story fresh, so how do I make it new every time? Thankfully, I do discover something new every performance or rehearsal, and I am learning more about Emily as well, so I look forward to sharing her story with more people!
Asia 361: In what ways are your character relatable to you?
Laura: I find Emily very relatable, because I do come from a Peranakan background as well, so the culture is familiar ground for me. However, I did get to understand the Peranakan culture a lot more through learning about Emily, so it has also been a fresh learning experience for me. Emily is a very strong woman, but she validates and proves herself through caring for her family, and through adeptly managing the household. I believe the strongest and most intelligent women should know when to be submissive, and when to dominate. Therein lies her power. Submission to a man does not mean a loss of dignity or identity. Instead, it allows a woman to wield power over the men in her life, by wrapping them around her finger.
Asia 361: What are your favorite scenes?
Laura: There are two scenes that I particularly enjoy performing. The first is a flashback of Emily’s first Chinese New Year with the Gan family. We get to see her have fun, and we see scheming Emily make a fool out of her husband’s younger brothers and sisters-in-law. The second scene I love is a drastic turnaround from the first. For the first time, she shares about her struggles as a woman in “a world made by men”, and this is the scene when we get to see the real Emily.
Asia 361: What makes people want to watch this play?
Laura: This is an iconic Singapore classic play, because Emily is such an over-the-top, yet relatable, character, and her story is very powerful. You think you know her, but do you really? You can choose to love Emily, or you may hate Emily, but you cannot deny that she is a very intelligent woman, who has unfortunately been dealt a hard hand in life. Emily deserves to be admired, and yet abhorred at the same time. She fights for what she wants, but at what cost? How far are we willing to go to prove our worth?
