SIFA 2015: Who's your neighbour in Kumar’s Living Together
Kumar's Living Together at SIFA 2015. Photo: Jason Wong.
SINGAPORE — For an arts festival with the word “international” in its name, you really can’t get any more local than Kumar doing a show in Hougang.
The popular comedian’s free touring show Living Together seems an unlikely way to kick off the Singapore International Festival Of Arts: It’s away from the usual performing arts venues in the city and roving around in the heartlands (after Thursday’s show at an open-air ampitheatre in Upper Serangoon Road, it travels to Tampines, Marsiling and Jurong East).
But despite an unnecessary “us versus them” stance to emphasise his heartlands cred (pre-show audience warm-up, he took a rather unhelpful dig at so-called “atas” types of shows, which the festival he’s a part of has many), it was undeniable that Kumar’s charisma extends far and wide.
It might have been his first time performing outside of his usual venues (and in front of the usual crowds) and he might have held back just a wee bit on the irreverence (“Cannot talk about politics—open air” — although he eventually did), but Kumar’s zingers definitely connected with the all-ages crowd who gave him a loud round of applause when he said: “You are the core Singaporeans and you need to laugh!”
But Living Together isn’t simply a stand-up comedy show about random topics. It wants to talk about this whole idea of HDB living and of being neighbours. So Kumar brings in fellow performers to help bring to life four such heartland denizens: Under One Roof’s Koh Chieng Mun as a 55-year-old, cancer-surviving tai-tai adjusting to life in Tiong Bahru; Zaliha Hamid as the quintessential makcik from Potong Pasir who can’t understand her daughter’s modern ways; Sharul Channa as an Eastie banker caught up in the rat race; and Shane Mardjuki as the you-can’t-place-his-European accent foreigner who simply adores living among the locals.
A hodge-podge of issues are brought up — from CPF to the generation gap — with Kumar dishing out life-lesson type aphorisms (“Don’t be a mother, be a friend”) after every character’s appearance.
But for a show titled Living Together, it doesn’t really get into the nitty gritty things about, well, the idea of living together. Despite a pretty decent finale of all these “heartlanders” coming together for a multilingual recitation of the Singapore Pledge, it’s really more Here Are People Who Live Together, an exercise in show-and-tell, with the characters rolled out one after the other without any interaction — except with Kumar.
And this bit becomes quite a weakness. A comedian with such presence, dishing out impromptu stand-up riffs, simply overpowers a supporting cast hampered by obviously scripted parts. Or perhaps it’s a bit like how one slowly warms up to new neighbours — it’s simply a matter of time; it was the first show, after all.
For sure, Living Together is a fun night out and Kumar is always a hoot to watch. But better temper expectations about it offering particularly keen insights on social integration or cohesion. It wasn't that long ago when you had those real-life incidents regarding curries and Malay void deck weddings, for example, but you won't see this show discussing those tensions here.
Then again, maybe the show is merely a trigger. Before it begins, there’s a video featuring actual HDB dwellers offering their thoughts on being Singaporean, the kampong spirit, what has been lost and what’s still there, and even specific comments about how these flats contribute to the decline of social interaction and the alienation felt with a rising population.
After much food for thought, the pleasure here is perhaps a simple one: Hanging out with friends, family, strangers, and yes, even neighbours, out in the open, watching a live show. For one hour, at least, it *was* a case of living together.
Kumar’s Living Together’s other shows start will be held on Aug 8 (Tampines Festival Park, Tampines St 21, between Blks 254 and 257), Aug 13 (Ampitheatre, Blk 204 Marsiling Drive) and Aug 15 (Community Plaza, Juron East St 32, between Blks 312 and 316) at 8pm (with a pre-show video screening at 7.30pm). Free admission. For more information on SIFA, visit https://sifa.sg/sifa/
