PRODUCTION NOTES

Writer's Notes

Did Emily ever wish that she had been born a man? Did she think that no man could ever understand what it means to be born as a woman into this world that men have made? Is it true that many Peranakan men, like "Richard" and "Keong", were so dominated by their strong women, that they became effete and feminised? I shall be greatly interested to see how Ivan Heng and Krishen Jit will address these gender-related issues, which are so much part of Emily's cultural and social background. I have always felt that any player who wants to have a go at this challenging role is entitled to show us how well he/she can do it. In traditional Asian theatre, including Peranakan bangsawan, it is not surprising for a male actor to be playing a female role. In contemporary theatre, the gender-bending aspect will undeniably elicit some frisson of excitement. The actor will, I am sure, utilise this fully in the service of his art.

Stella Kon

Director's Notes

I have been engaged in tracing the dramatic anatomy of a matriarch for some years. The first of my psychological forays into this field was afforded to Five Arts Centre's performance of Leow Puay Tin's The Family, which was co-directed by Wong Hoy Cheong. To realise "Mrs. Yang", the directors found it necessary to represent her by male and female actors. A similar kind of gender negotiation is the strategy that operates in the present performance of Stella Kon's Emily of Emerald Hill. The phenomenon of Ivan Heng playing the frequently performed role of "Emily" crystallises an encounter between genders in our theatre. Ivan does not surrender his gender and become a woman. On the contrary, his performance engenders discourse between male and female stances and attributes.

Working with Ivan again is an unmitigated pleasure. We first worked together when he played the intriguing character of Song in David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly, which I directed for Theatreworks of Singapore in 1991. This second time around is even better because we have both grown as theatre workers. More importantly when we work, we are constantly aware that we are growing through Stella's work.

I would like to thank Dramalab for giving me the opportunity to work with Ivan again. The warmth and friendship I have been showered by Zahim, Una, Lennard and Gracie have been simply heart-warming. I hope the work measures up to their expectations. Most of all, I hope our version of Emily engenders enjoyment in the audience.

Krishen Jit

Historical Notes

The Female Impersonator in the Wayang Peranakan

Since its early days, the general format of the Wayang Peranakan (the Baba Peranakan theatre) closely resembles that of the Malay opera or bangsawan. But unlike the Malay theatre troupe whose attraction centred largely on the popularity of both their male and female lead, the Wayang Peranakan on the other hand has always depended on its female impersonator(s) to bring in the crowd.

In the early 1930s, it was a necessity to have males playing female roles in the Wayang Peranakan, because the Baba Peranakan society then frowned upon the very thought of their lady folk appearing on stage. This is not unlike the thinking of other Eastern and Western cultures of much earlier days. Changing times and attitudes, however, have not altered this aspect of the Wayang Peranakan, where female impersonators continue to dominate centerstage to the very end of this millennium.

Before WW2, every female role in the Baba Peranakan play ranging from that of the primadonna to that of the chorus girl were undertaken by female impersonators. These men never parodied their female counterparts. To do so would only serve to ridicule and belittle their own women folk. Instead, they took their roles seriously and enacted them faithfully. They rose to the occasion and took on challenging roles such as that of the domineering matriarch, the cruel mother-in-law, the fragile heroine, the helpless and innocent daughter in law, the Cantonese domestic help of the family, the female lead singer or dancer during the musical interlude, etc. They so perfected their respective roles that they became household names. Among the greats of the bygone days were Baba Lee Cheng Kim, who rendered keroncong and stamboels in female voice, and Baba Ong Guan Bock, who was a firm favourite for his acting and dancing abilities.

The Baba women folk, the Nyonyas, were liberated after WW2 and gradually began to appear in the post-war Wayang Peranakan. In spite of this, the female impersonators continued to dominate the scene as it had been accepted that they could better portray the females better than the real women themselves! In the 1960s, Baba William Tan held sway and to this day, his female fans especially still look back with nostalgia on his many performances as a female.

The place of the female impersonator is no longer a necessity but a tradition in the Baba theatre. No Baba stage play is complete without at least a female impersonator in a major role. The 1990s have belonged to Baba G.T. Lye, incomparable as a matriarch, Waiting in the wing is Baba K.T., a budding and talented female impersonator who will ensure that the tradition will continue to live on. Baba

William Gwee Thian Hock
Playwright /composer

William Gwee is the author of A Nyonya Mosaic: My Mother's Childhood and Mas Sepuluh: Baba Conversational Gems. Gwee is a well-respected Baba in the Baba Peranakan community and known for his in-depth knowledge of the Baba Peranakan culture. He co-ordinated the wedding pageant in Pilih Menantu (1984) and Buang Keroh Pungut Jernih (1985). Prior to Janji Perut (1999), Gwee wrote three other works - Manis Manis Pait, Kelu Jodoh Tak Mana Lari and Bulan Pernama. All the Baba songs in these plays are Gwee's original compositions.

Producer's Notes

"Emily of Emerald Hill" - Four words that conjure up many different things for many different people at different times in their lives. In 1985, watching Margaret's "Emily" vindicated a very 'unfilial' on-off relationship with my strong-willed mother.

Ten years and three kids later, Pearlly justified the strong-willed mother that I had become.

And now - Ivan. Well, this "Emily" just moves me to laughter and to tears with each and every performance. It allows me to wallow in the past as he brings to life characters I remember. He does a perfect Grand-Auntie Chetty-Girl, whose idiosyncrasies at Tek Kah Market in Singapore were legendary.

Then almost without skipping a beat, he has me crying silently as I feel Emily's loss as keenly as if it were mine. And in some strange way, it is. For you, P.J.

Now before I get all caught up in nostalgia, there are some very important people that I want to thank. People who opened up their hearts and homes to Ivan and myself as we traipsed around Singapore, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur searching and researching Peranakan history, heritage and heirlooms.

People who wanted to see this production succeed and gave us generously - their time, expertise, costumes, props, sponsorship and some lovely anecdotes we will never forget.

William Gwee, G.T. Lye, Richard Tan, Ashley, Peter Wee, May and Alex Gui, Yue Yee, Michael Tan, Jovita Martin, Albert King, Darius, Y.C. Chai, Randy, and the list goes on. But you know what you have done. Thank you.

Special thanks must go to:
Vernon for having Ivan for a month - and to Tony for not.
Maliq for the guts and gusto to venture into the unknown. It's a wrap, babe!
Gracie for coming out of theatre retirement and is probably now regretting it.
Lennard who after a month of production/ publicity/general slavery is now writing and directing a play entitled "In Praise of Death". Lurve you, sayang.
Zahim for proving that things do happen in threes. Get well soon. We miss you on set.
Jit for… just being Jit and being there. You do it so well.
Krishen for crossing the boundaries of theatre and taking grateful passengers along.
Ivan who deserves a "cicak berlian" of his very own. We're still saving for it, darling.
Heiner for bringing home the bacon so that I am free to "masak babi buah keluak" anytime I want.
And finally to my very own babies, Dani, Sacha and Niki: "You will never do anything to make me sad, will you?…You'll do everything that I want you to do." Yeah! Right!

Una Oliveiro-Kirchhuebel