Friday, August 04, 2006

 

Another Elangovan Play Banned

A email just came in on the Art Community Yahoo! Group from S Thenmoli, the President of the theatre group, Agni Kootthu (Theatre of Fire). Seems that yet another play of Elangovan's failed to pass censorship.

According to Thenmoli's email and to a Channel NewsAsia article, the Media Development Authority (MDA) issued an RA18 licence for the play, SMEGMA, on Tue 1 Aug. Today (4 Aug), the licence was withdrawn. Thenmoli reported that the second (and official) version of the MDA letter withdrawing the licence said that "After careful consideration, we find that the play undermines the values underpinning Singapore's multi-racial, multi-religious society, and portrays Muslims in a negative light." Thenmoli said that there was an earlier first version of the letter which gave more reasons: that the play might 'negatively impact... bilateral relations' and that "Two playlets featuring Muslim terrorists are also provocative in view of the increased tension in the Middle east."

I went to the Substation website to take a look at the publicity blurb about the play. The first paragraph reads:

"Truth Is The Enemy Of The State
SMEGMA interrogates the 'moral, cultural, religious, political, economical legitimacy world' from many different perspectives of the underdogs and their masters. This plastic society's hidden hierarchies are brought to the surface by the experiences of its outsiders; a schizophrenic transsexual, pregnant female suicide bomber, irate non-smokers and defiant smokers."

The rest of the publicity is much longer but essentially expands on this first paragraph.

Finally, what does smegma mean?
First, read the polite definition from the British Compact Oxford English Dictionary.
Then the explictly direct definition from the American Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.


Comments:
From a Channel NewsAsia website article dated 4 Aug 2006, 5.39pm (the article as originally posted was much shorter and the information below was posted during the weekend:
"The Arts Consultative Panel... found the content of the play insensitive and inappropriate for staging."
It "was concerned that it could create unhappiness and disaffection amongst the Muslim community."
"According to the [Substation] box office, 11 tickets were sold since they went on sale last week. And most theatre-goers would only buy tickets to an Agni Koothu production on the actual day of performance."
MDA yet to make a statement as of Sat morning,
 
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