Singapore has always prided itself as a country with people of different races and cultures living harmoniously together. The topic of race is usually handled with care on this Little Red Dot. The talented and naughty folks at Dream Academy® has creatively skirted around the sensitivity and injected loads of fun and laughter into their brand new show Meenah And Cheenah! Watch with glee as your familiar racial stereotypes comes alive on stage!
Written by Alfian Sa’at (Best Original Script, Life! Theatre Awards for Landmarks, Nadirah, Kakak Kau Punya Laki), Siti Khalijah (Best Of, The Noose, Model Citizens) and Judee Tan (Dr. Teo Chew Moi, The Noose) will deliver a slew of instantly-recognisable Singaporean characters – a pair of secondary-school delinquents, the Makcik and her Ah Soh best friend and more! They will answer all the burning questions you have of Meenah and Cheenah in their criss cross multicultural teh tarik bubble tea champalang nonsense!
What We Loved
Despite the use of the ‘Meenah’ a derogatory term describing ill-bred Malay women and ‘Cheenah’ a similarly dismissive is used to describe someone or something stereotypically Chinese as the show title, we were pleasantly surprised that the performance did not harp on or make cruel jokes out the common misconceptions that typical Singaporeans have of these two races.
In fact, the performance successfully bring about greater understanding on why the two race choose to do things or behave in a certain way through clever wordplay that would set you laughing throughout the entire show. Those who are above 30s will appreciate familiar scenes from our slightly more rebellious growing up years – the days of ah lians and mando pop.
We relished almost all the roles these 2 ladies portrayed and were amazed by their energy on stage. If we were to pick our favourite, it would have to be the Lunar 7th month scene where Siti played the infamous Singapore ‘Pontianak’ who issue fines to Judee, a deceased Cheenah who anyhow parked her car. The reason behind why the underworld now has government and fines almost killed us!
The ridiculously funny miscommunications between the Ming Dynasty Cheenah Princess and Sultanate Meenah Attendant also got everyone laughing off their chairs. The army scene came across to us as a little trying too hard. We cringed as some of the sexist dialogues felt really odd when delivered by ladies.
Overall, we walked out feeling tickled and satisfied with Meenah and Cheenah performance. We encourage everyone to jio (invite) friends from different races or foreign kakis to catch the show together. Have a good laugh and better understand the intricacies surrounding these two race together! Here’s the full details of the show:
Meenah and Cheenah
Dates: 11 – 22 May 2016
Time: 8pm (Tues – Sat), 4pm & 8pm (Sat & Sun)
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Tickets from $50 available for booking via SISTIC
Don’t forget to take welfies together when you are there!
