Poop!

“When is life worth living; when is death worth celebrating?”

The notion of death and reincarnation has fascinated mankind’s consciousness, religions and literature since time immemorial. 

Poop chronicles the aftermath of a suicide: A GRANDMOTHER bargains with divine powers to release her SON’S soul from hell. Failing which, she brings him home; she takes over the reins of bringing up her GRANDDAUGHTER, while keeping her DAUGHTER-IN-LAW at bay, saving the GRANDDAUGHTER all for herself   She tries to instill in her GRANDDAUGHTER that death is merely a joke, that there’s nothing to cry about as she takes her on a mind trip towards the underworld and purgatory — set against an all-too-familiar urban backdrop of fast food restaurants, underground trains, verdant pastures, and SBS buses. 

These personal fantasies of the afterlife are challenged however when her GRANDDAUGHTER contracts a terminal illness. 

The GRANDMOTHER fights with her DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, converses with the spirit of her SON, goes back in time, drinks a cup of Milo and watches her GRANDDAUGHTER take her final march towards her deathbed in a kind of apocalyptic graphic novel meets Victorian-era toy theatre.

The never-ending days of mourning are brought to lurid 3-dimensional, high-definition life as the agonizing wait for the ultimate redemption is an imprisonment in the realm between living and non-living on earth.

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Director / Playwright Chong Tze Chien
Sound Designer Darren Ng
Lighting Designer Lim Woan Wen
Puppetry and Props Designers & Makers Ang Hui Bin, Steffi Tan

Starring: Janice Koh, Jean Ng, Julius Foo, Neo Swee Lin
Puppeteers Ang Hui Bin, Darren Guo, Zee Wong

Production Manager: Lam Dan Fong
Technical Manager: Huang Xiang Bin
Stage Manager: Tennie Su
Assistant Stage Managers: Tan Xiang Yi, Toh Wen Fang
Crew: Phua Yun Yun
Wardrobe Manager: Chong Wee Nee
Sound Assistant: Jing Ng
Set Coordinator: Ctrl Fre@k

REVIEWS

“Poop! puts audiences through an intensive and thorough emotional purge, and once you leave the theatre, there’s an immense sense of satisfaction and relief brought on by its cathartic effects…”
– Bakchormeeboy

“….excellent puppetry and physicality throughout the play with seamless fluidity.”
– Arts Equator

“uplifting and inspirational, not just through its theme but in its artistic ambition.”
– Centre 42

“… the darkened theatre versus the bright fluorescent props and costumes, the heaviness of the themes versus the playfulness of their execution, the bleakness of confronting reality versus the comfort of self-delusion. And it is this fine balance between light and dark that makes the play fascinating.”
– The Business Times