Identity Narrative In A Multi-cultural Language Context

Little theatres in Singapore emerged in a multi-cultural discourse context in the late 1980s when the Singapore society went through a high rate of socio-economic growth and a loosening political control.Chinese theatre then was withering;the emergence of Litter theatres gave the former a new lease of life.Little theatres were created by Singapore theatre workers who are either Chinese-or bilingually-educated.Through little theatres,these playwrights rediscovered their cultural roots and reconstructed national identity in the post-colonial era;they also expressed their doubts and rebellion against the mainstream culture which is in control of speech and discourse.Mandarin little theatres form a unique system of discourse in Singapore.It fully exhibits Singapore's indigeneity and pluralism via its styles,themes,structures,images and languages.On the one hand,it portrays Singapore's internalization and mastery of both Western and Eastern cultures,on the other,it carries the playwrights' interpretation of the multi-racial,multi-cultural Singapore society.In the use of styles,experimental theatres fully capitalize on Singapore's multi-cultural discourse context,by drawing references from,dissecting and reversing classic works,and by drawing nutrients from modem Western thoughts,playwrights create tons of local-themed plays.These plays examine and redefine Singaporeans' national identity in the post-colonial discourse context,capture present day societal anxiety,care for the less privileged,and project cultural criticisms on the mainstream ideology.Anti-tradition structures are commonly deployed in Avant-garde theatres.Little theatres offer a stage for unimportant persons and marginal men to voice their concerns and thoughts and be listened and cared for.The most unique characteristic of Mandarin little theatres in Singapore lies in its use of language-a cocktail of Mandarin with Southern China accent,English,Chinese dialects,Malay and Tamil-which immediately etches it to Singapore.Mandarin litter theatre works has never been bothered with using "pure" Chinese language,instead,it focusses on reproducing language that is used in the real life.Using Chinese as a second language as a medium of art,Mandarin little theatres have an added mission for promoting Chinese language and culture as well as creating a local Chinese cultural camp.Mandarin little theatres form an integral part of Chinese Literature in Singapore.This is one most important value proposition that Mandarin little theatres in Singapore offer.