Meta-commentary on the annual NDP sees how Wild Rice would celebrate National Day, their way.

Whether you see it as propaganda or a celebration of nationhood, the annual National Day Parade (NDP) is without a doubt one of the quintessential parts of the Singapore calendar. But how accurate is it, really, of reflecting our lives as Singaporeans, and representing our hopes, dreams and often complicated relationship with the country? For local theatre company Wild Rice, they’ve taken the opportunity to stage a show that satirises the NDP by doing the actual event their own way in their theatre.

Written and directed by Thomas Lim, National Day Charade encourages audience members to treat it like an actual parade in its own right (despite the title), handing out plastic flags and with most of the audience dressed in the requisite red and white colours. The stage itself has been decked out in artificial turf, the space now reminiscent of the Padang, while a screen above showcases quotes from the public regarding their own wishes for Singapore. National Day Charade then aims to not only parody the parade, negotiating the power structures and messaging it purports, but also quite simply, entertain.

Cast members Shane Mardjuki, Andrew Marko, Krish Natarajan, Nurulhuda Hassan and Deonn Yang are given the monumental task of carrying the show, and if anyone has ever watched NDP hosts at work, one would see that it’s a feat in and of itself to keep the enthusiasm, energy and smiles going throughout the parade, something that this cast emulates during the run of this show as well. As expected, there are plenty of audience participation elements to get the energy going and attempt to hype us up, from asking us to choose between Nasi Lemak or Chicken Rice, doing the Kallang Wave, and of course, a plethora of songs, including a segment where we even spend time writing our own NDP song with the cast. In terms of their chemistry however, the cast often feel like they have not fully gelled with each other onstage, and there is often a struggle and long build-up before each segment to get the audience onboard with the activity.

National Day Charade often comes far too close to the actual parade itself to really be considered a satire or parody, more of a re-creation with a few attempts at humour rather than truly transforming it into a theatre show with its own clear identity and messaging for the audience. In true Wild Rice fashion, National Day Charade does have some original scenes that push at certain policies and poke at the government, from asking about the controversial decisions to get rid of Bukit Brown Cemetery or Dover Forest. There’s even an entire scene dedicated to the supposed firefighting the organising committee deals with, playing up their panic in relation to potentially controversial LGBTQ+ themes or doing a chilli padi ritual to ensure good weather, to the audience’s laughter. If anything, there’s an element of fun it always tries to inject in every scene, even if it is hit and miss.

Wild Rice has never been known for their subtlety, and National Day Charade sticks to that philosophy well and true, with plenty of loving criticism of Singapore amidst the celebratory aspects. Take for instance how they call for support of independent journalists to get their own contingent, or recall the controversial 1987 Operation Spectrum, or even Singapore’s continued neutral stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The spirit of rebellion remains strong, but often, each of these scenes last just a little too long, with a lack of snappy timing that makes the play drag on.

The comedy as a whole is also unsteady, often feeling crass and vulgar, rather than laugh out loud. This tends comes off as trying a little too hard to stir controversy, from revisiting the infamous moment where a schoolboy raised his middle finger at the camera during the 2017 NDP, to mocking the President speaking to the guard-of-honour soldiers, especially considering how many weekends the actual parade participants spend rehearsing and looking forward to, reducing it all to a throwaway laugh. To top it off, a flurry of vulgarities are abound in the play as well, to the shock of families with young children in the audience, with no real purpose except to make a weak joke about SG (In)Secure.

The most obvious and easy potshots are taken, low hanging fruit and weak improvisation was felt. Does this show have a heart? Yes, to an extent, primarily in the videos showing various people from Singapore sharing their stories, often those on the fringes of society, yet are still quintessentially Singaporean. It is far more important to cut the razzle-dazzle and feeble attempts at engagement, and find these small moments of the real that make us remember what the NDP should truly be about – seeing the pride or the overcoming of struggles in Singaporeans’ voices and faces. And even then, there were moments that Wild Rice failed in – a segment that was meant to feature two videos did not receive clearance before the show, resulting in Wild Rice being unable to show it, and instead requesting the audience to scan a QR code and watch it at home if they wanted instead.

By its end, National Day Charade reaches its last ditch attempt to win over the audience – with a medley of NDP songs. There is a reason why NDP chooses performers who can sing, but despite the cast butchering a few songs here and there, Andrew Marko gets a shining moment here to finally present the NDP song we created earlier on, arranged on the spot and receiving great plaudits from the audience. As the cast stands on the ‘Padang’ and the rain falls from above, we are reminded of the beginning of the play, where it seemed that the the 1966 NDP too waited till the end of the event before the heavens opened up and began to pour. And that artificial attempt to recreate a powerful moment in time seems to reflect why there is something so off about this show – it is one that exists to make noise rather than do work, one that felt more focused on cheap laughs than provoking real thought and reflection, a sham and a charade rather than a glorious, satisfying parade.

Photo Credit: Wild Rice

National Day Charade played from 11th to 27th July 2024 at Wild Rice @ Funan. More information available here

Production Credits:

Playwright & Director Thomas Lim Dramaturg Sindhura Kalidas Cast Shane Mardjuki, Andrew Marko, Krish Natarajan, Nurulhuda Hassan, Deonn Yang Choreographer Gino Babagay Assistant Choreographer Pat Jon Gregory Set Designer Grace Lin Lighting Designer James Tan Sound Designer / Composer Stan Costume Designer Max Tan Multimedia Designer Koo Chia Meng (Fiction Shore) Hair Designer Ashley Lim Make-Up Designer Bobbie Ng