SINGAPORE: Have you ever wondered what happened to nerdy Malcolm Png and his fellow army recruits after their National Service (NS) misadventures in Army Daze?
Audiences will be able to catch up on what the gang has been up to, in a brand new sequel to the 1987 comedy play.
Written by original playwright Michael Chiang, Army Daze 2 will be staged from Aug 4 to 20 at Drama Centre.
The play is set 30 years after the original. Directed by Beatrice Chia-Richmond and produced by Annie Pek, with music by Don Richmond, the story sees the characters reuniting for a new mission of sorts, which that revolve around the historic news of Singapore’s first female army chief and the social media storm that surrounds it.
ARMY DAZE TURNS 30, NS TURNS 50
Based on Chiang’s 1985 bestselling eponymous book, the original Army Daze is considered a classic in Singaporean theatre.
It has been staged six times, including a musical version in 2013. In 1996, it was also adapted into a movie, which was directed by Cultural Medallion recipient Ong Keng Sen and featured Sheikh Haikel and Deanna Yusoff.
To date, close to 300,000 people have seen the play and the movie (not to mention those who’ve caught the latter on its regular TV runs).
Playwright Michael Chiang (centre) during the second staging of Army Daze in 1990 by TheatreWorks, which featured W!ld Rice’s Ivan Heng (far left) as Malcolm Png.
But despite being constantly asked to do a sequel, Chiang told Channel NewsAsia he always resisted the idea – until this year.
“2017 is not only the play’s 30th anniversary but also the 50th anniversary of National Service. I thought, if I ever did a sequel, this was probably the year to do it,” said the playwright, whose resume also includes that other Singaporean classic Beauty World.
The new piece took six weeks to write, beginning in December last year. To reconnect with this old characters, he first went to Bangkok to write for five to six days, before continuing in Singapore.
“I spent Christmas alone in a hotel room. Very sad and tragic,” quipped Chiang, who had previously gone on a playwriting hiatus for 14 years before returning with the tai-tai comedy High Class in 2013.
He added: “Once I decided to do it, it was a lot of fun. I wanted to remind people what they were like, but there’s also a glimpse of their mid-life crisis as they’re 48 pushing 50. But I still have to keep it funny and light.”
FROM BOYS TO MEN
In Army Daze 2, the boys have all grown up (and even have kids who are also going to NS).
Lead character Malcolm has become top military dog – a colonel and the army’s director of public affairs. Meanwhile, his NS buddies have also moved on: Krishna’s an architect, Kenny’s an interior designer, Ah Beng’s an entrepreneur, and Johari runs a restaurant business.
As the army’s media point person, Malcolm finds himself at the centre of a crisis after a woman is appointed to head the army. “This triggers off a social media frenzy and he has to front and defend it. But at the same time, he feels frustrated that he’s been passed over,” said Chiang.
Reprising their now-grown-up characters are actors who have performed in the various Army Daze stagings through the years.
The original Army Daze was staged many times, including these three versions from 1995, 2006, and 2012.
They include Hossan Leong, Joshua Lim, Ebi Shankara, Shane Mardjuki, Saiful Amri. Chua Enlai will also be playing the platoon’s kooky drill instructor Corporal Ong.
Meanwhile, female actor Oon Shu An will play Brigadier General Wong “who pops out of nowhere and is suddenly chief of army”.
Said Chiang: “I think the onset of public opinion-slash-social media has changed the way a lot of things work and you see it played out in quite dramatic form here, because of the appointment of this woman. To me, it’s like, ‘why not?’ but the play will talk about the issues surrounding it.”
LIVES OF ARMY OFFICERS
In the wake of Army Daze’s success, there have been other plays and movies done about National Service and army life, such as the W!ld Rice’s Own Time Own Target and Jack Neo’s Ah Boys To Men film franchise.
But when the Army Daze book and play first came out in quick succession, there was nothing quite like them.
“There had never been anything written or staged on National Service at all – and it wasn’t something you made fun of, so in a way I kind of pushed the boundaries a bit on two occasions,” recalled Chiang, who added that he’s aware the sequel will play to both new and old audiences.
One of Singapore’s most successful cross-platform works, Michael Chiang’s Army Daze began as a book in 1985 and went on to also become a 1996 movie (that was regularly shown on TV), and even a comic book. (Photo of Chiang by Steve Zhu)
“I think there will be the people who know the old version and are curious about the boys, and there are a brand new bunch who’ve never seen it or maybe have seen the movie on TV. It was one of those things that has crossed so many platforms – book, stage, film – and worked on all.”
For Army Daze 2 director Chia-Richmond, who has worked on three different productions of the original play, doing the sequel was a no-brainer.
“It’s my reservist,” she joked. “I’ve always referred to it as sort of meeting an old friend, and now we get to see the characters 30 years later.”
She added that both Chiang’s and her experiences working on a couple of National Day Parades have also served them in good stead for a play that explores life after National Service.
Before there was Jack Neo’s Ah Boys To Men movie franchise (picture), there was Army Daze, which looked at National Service in a way that had never been done before in the 1980s. (Photo: Ah Boys To Men 2)
Working on big national events meant being exposed to the lives of men in uniform.
“We’ll always have those who go do two, two-and-a-half years, and come out with war stories, seeing ghosts lah, and all that. But now the encounters we have are with people who live and love their lives as army officers.”
But despite Army Daze 2 taking place during NS50, she added that it won’t be mere propaganda for the army.
“Our approach is definitely more personal. It’s the layman’s approach to how National Service has been part of our lives,” she said.
