This weekend, Centre 42 reimagines one of Singapore's most iconic English monodramas, Emily of Emerald Hill. Written by Stella Kon and first staged in Malaysia in 1984, Emily of Emerald Hill follows a Peranakan matriarch, Emily, in the 1950s. We witness Emily as she wrestles with the responsibilities that are piled onto her as a mother to a rebellious son, a (second) wife to an affluent Peranakan man and as a woman in 1950s Singapore.
Playwright-Director Eugene Koh and Director-Producer Lee Shu Yu's @thisisemeraldgirl, however, is a "sequel, adaptation and reinterpretation" of Emily of Emerald Hill. Socialite and social media influencer, Elisabeth Gan is the granddaughter of Emily Gan. Using her handle @thisisemeraldgirl, Elisabeth invites the world into her family home on Emerald Hill through her carefully curated online videos.
In an interview, the creators shared how they had intended to emulate Emily of Emerald Hill's supposedly advanced use of media during its first iterations. As such, their performance is interspersed with Youtube videos of @thisisemeraldgirl as well as juxtapositions of archival clips of Margaret Chan's Emily of Emerald Hill.
While @thisisemeraldgirl's Youtube videos added clarity to the present-day world of Elisabeth, the audience was left wanting. There were small wins in the form of the secret of Richard's suicide being uncovered in a documentary-styled vlog. Yet, one of my gripes was when the team had adapted only half of, what I personally consider, Emily's most poignant monologues into an Aunt Agony segment. The monologue in question was Emily's plotting of how best to deal with her husband, Keong's, infidelity while still maintaining an impression of grace among the public. Why was it only adapted halfway?
Another questionable artistic choice came in the form of Elisabeth (Brenda Tan) performing a monologue about women's place in society simultaneously as the archival footage of Emily (Margaret Chan) - saying the exact same lines - was played. One's first reaction is confusion as both women talk simultaneously. Who do we listen to? Was the overlap intentional? And if so, is there space for inarticulate exasperation in a piece that is typically performed uninterrupted by one woman?
I wonder then, if @thisisemeraldgirl would have held better as an original play - casting its own spotlight outside of the gargantuan shadow that is Emily of Emerald Hill.
At its climax, @thisisemeraldgirl posits pertinent questions in today's social media age. As Elisabeth is confronted about capitalising on her watered down heritage and disgracefully hanging the family's secret, Richard's suicide, out to dry, she articulates the consciousness that youths bear today, "Is it wrong that I want to share something about myself?"
Another gem was, "Just because it is on the internet, does it mean that it is fake?"
Despite the blood line to Emily and Richard and the reworking of Bee Choo and Susie, one cannot ignore the fact that Emily and Elisabeth live in two very stark realities. While Emily was telling a white lie to cajole her homeless friend into "taking care" of her extra house, Elisabeth bites her tongue and pretends to befriend her frienemy ("friend-enemy"), Susie. While Emily was fighting the role society and fate had thrusted onto her, Elisabeth was stuck in a handmade mess of her own making - with a part time helper a phone call away; What's at stake for both women were very clearly and utterly different.
Nonetheless, @thisisemeraldgirl was a bold attempt to reinvent the energy and themes of Emily of Emerald Hill. While compliments should be given to its more extensive mixed media experimentation, it would seem that @thisisemeraldgirl would have fared better in the light, confronting the audiences of today on its own.