Drama

Let Tan Tarn How, one of Singapore’s most controversial playwrights, take you on a journey that confronts the social and political issues facing Singaporeans today. With his signature wit and unflinching candour, he puts the spotlight on issues of life and death, sex and love, government, national identity and racism. This collection contains six award-winning plays and an introduction by Dr. K. K. Seet.Reviews:On The Lady of Soul and Her Ultimate “S” Machine“…the most important thing about Tan Tarn How’s play is its marking of a watershed in Singapore theatre: it is arguably the first English play to present the country critically and artistically, without hiding behind coy allegory.”—Hannah Pandian, The Straits TimesOn Undercover“The play, a farce about the goings-on in an internal security department, takes Singapore theatre into uncharted territory.”—Koh Buck Song, The Straits TimesOn Six of the Best“Six of the Best, in dealing with such an explosive topic, will hopefully get under the skin to the heart of racism in Singapore.”—Phua Mei Pin, The Straits TimesOn The First Emperor’s Last Days“With The First Emperor’s Last Days, playwright Tan Tarn How continues to stake out a unique place for himself in Singapore theatre, as a creator of topical, political plays.”—Cherian George, The Straits TimesOn Machine“Tan’s sensitivity and genius is obvious throughout: the dialogue is light but loaded. In the exchanges, there are just the right doses of surprise to compliment, of feigned ignorance to encourage and of coyness to intrigue, as both the man and woman manoeuvre expertly towards their ultimate goal—the bed, after which the relationship ceases to be.”—Suhaila Sulaiman, The Straits Times

Francis Bacon described revenge as a 'kind of wild justice'. Then as now, early modern playwrights and their theatre-going public were fascinated by the anarchic energies that a desire for retribution unleashes. Rather than rehearsing familiar conventions, each of these plays presents a unique social and cultural milieu where dark fantasies of revenge are variously played out.In Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy a grieving father seeks public justice for the murder of his son by envious princelings. When his attempts are thwarted he turns a court spectacle of murder into the 'real' thing. Blackly comic in its tone and style, The Revenger's Tragedy (anon.) presents vengeance as mimetic art, witty and cruel. Ford's ' Tis Pity She's a Whore represents an innovative re-working of the genre as a brother's love for his sister leads to his spectacular revenge on his rival, her husband, in a society in which brutal retaliation for perceived wrong is the norm. In Webster's The White Devil crimes of passion ignite revenge in the courts of the Italian city states.This student edition contains fully annotated, modernized texts of each play together with an introduction discussing the dramatic and poetic style of each play, focusing on its action and play of ideas.