剧评：Request Programme
这不该是日常—— 观“Request Programme”
德国剧作家克尔兹（Franz Xaver Kroetz）写于1971年的“Request Programme”（又名“Request Concert”），用一句话便可概括故事：一位妇女回家，进行诸般睡前作息，终于入睡，却又起床，从冰箱里取一瓶酒……
这么一齣戏，全程没有对白，观众却看得聚精会神。我看的那场戏，虽然有三几位观众中途调整坐姿，但演员陈慧娟（Karen Tan）操纵自如地掌握观众的注意力，戏结束时，才发现原来已过了60分钟有余。
舞美设计Mohd Fared Jainal（也是本地优秀导演）将空间转设计成独居者的房子，虽然大门上显眼至极的“EXIT”逃生口牌显得碍眼（真是无可奈何），但舞台设计的所有细节，包括摆设的排放、家具用品的颜色配搭，为观众提供“阅读”的趣味，陈慧娟在空间里游刃有余，真能让观众产生错觉，仿佛自己真的在偷窥一位独居妇女的日常。
然而观众愈投入剧情，愈会发现，这并不只是把“日常生活”搬上舞台的戏。剧中妇女Miss Lau 回家，一身上班族穿搭，状态极累；她在家中进行各种琐事，她可花上长时间，从洗衣机中把衣物一件一件晾好。她的家中摆设井井有条，她吃面、吃饼干，好好清理桌子，独居而不脏乱。她细心，且对生活严谨。
然而她的日常生活有着古怪细节。她打开电视，电视却收不到讯息。她的水龙头坏了，而她几次忘了水龙头已经坏掉了。她的手机发出几次声响，观众却无法从她的表情猜出那手机声到底意味着什么。她想抽烟，但总是找不到打火机。她进行钩针编织，但不久后又把最近钩编好的毛线都拆掉。剧末，妇女无法入睡，开了灯，开了酒，开了药罐，吞下了十粒药丸，再把所有药倒出来，露出微笑。
这仿佛是一部推理剧，剧末的转折，叫人震撼。她买了新的洗衣液；她把隔天需要穿的上班衣物排列出来；她把明天的早餐用具放好在桌上；她发现从网上购买的裙子有瑕疵，用手机向商家举报了…… 所做的一切事项都显示她在为“明天”做准备，但她最后起床吞药了—— 很多事情，往往只在一念。
剧末的转折，把一直作为“偷窥者”的观众变成了“参与者”：观众参与了妇女的生活，参与了妇女的自杀行动，我们常以为自杀是个人行为，但“Request Programme”用言外之意（是的，一语双关）刻画出独居者与社会之间的千丝万缕的关系。妇女的自杀行为，和每个人有关系（她的同事如何待她？她的亲友如何待她？她每天经过的陌生人们如何待她？），我们都不是单纯的目睹者。
妇女边吃面边听广播，听的是Gold 90.5FM，观众也一直听到电台的宣传声带“Sounds Good, Feels Good”（“好音乐，好心情”），但Miss Lau 没有显露愉悦的心情，观众看了戏，也很难会有好心情，该剧是配合新加坡美术馆的策展“日常作息”（Everyday Practices）呈现的演出，观众走出美术馆，思考“日常”，不免发觉，我们所谓的日常，一点都不日常：2024年，本地的自杀人数中，30岁到39岁之间的人的自杀率大大增加，那不该是“日常”。独居者死于屋内的新闻愈见频繁，新加坡社会及家庭发展部并不去统计在家中独自去世的老年人数量，那不该是“日常”。
戏剧构作亞非言（Alfian Sa’at）将剧本进行些许改编，配以导演钟达成的指导，选择以“Request Programme”为名，而不用“Request Concert”，会不会是为了提醒我们，别再像看电视节目（TV Programme）般看待这些社会新闻，“日常”之下有暗流。看了陈慧娟的表演，走出美术馆，徘徊在这座城市中，看似平凡日常的景象，忽然不再日常。我们都该好好地审视，自己所有的习以为常。
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This Should Not Be “Everyday Life” — Watching “Request Programme”
Written by German playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz in 1971, “Request Programme” (also known as “Request Concert”) can be summarized in one sentence: A woman returns home, goes through her usual bedtime routine, finally falls asleep, but then gets up and takes a bottle of wine from the refrigerator...
This play has no dialogue throughout, yet the audience watches intently. During the performance I attended, though a few audience members adjusted their seating positions midway, actress Karen Tan skillfully maintained the audience’s attention. By the end of the play, I realized over 60 minutes had passed.
Set designer Mohd Fared Jainal (an outstanding local director) transformed the space into the home of a solitary woman. Though the highly visible “EXIT” sign on the front door was somewhat distracting (unavoidable, perhaps), every detail of the stage design—from the arrangement of furnishings to the color coordination of household items-- added to the audience’s enjoyment of “reading” the space. Karen Tan moved effortlessly within it, truly creating an illusion for the audience, as if they were voyeurs into the daily life of a single woman.
However, as the play unfolded, the audience realized that this was not just a play that put “daily life” on stage.
We saw a woman, Miss Lau, dressed in her office attire, visibly exhausted,. She did various chores at home, spending a long time hanging clothes from the washing machine. Her home was tidy and organized. She ate noodles and cookies, cleaned the table thoroughly, and took care not to make a mess. She was attentive and meticulous.
There were, however, strange details in her routine. She turned on the TV, but it didn't receive any signals. Her tap was faulty, but she forgot several times that it was spoilt. Her cell phone rang several times, but the audience could not make out what it was from her expression. She wanted to smoke, but could not find her lighter. She did some crocheting but soon unraveled the yarn she just crocheted. At the end of the play, the woman got up from her sleep, turned on the light, opened a bottle of wine, opened a medicine bottle, swallowed ten pills, poured out the entire bottle of medicine, and finally smiled.
The audience played detectives, but the twist at the end was still shocking. She bought new laundry detergent; she laid out the clothes she needed to wear to work the next day; she placed the utensils for tomorrow’s breakfast on the table; she discovered a flaw in the dress she had purchased online and reported it to the seller via her phone… Everything she did indicated that she was preparing for “tomorrow,” but in the end, she swallowed the pills—many things often hinge on a single thought.
The twist at the end of the play transformed the audience, who had been mere “voyeurs,” into “participants”: the audience became involved in the woman’s life and her suicide attempt. We often assume that suicide is a personal act, but “Request Programme” portrayed the many intricate connections between a solitary individual and society beyond the use of texts. The woman's suicide was connected to everyone (How was she treated by her colleagues? How was she treated by her family and friends? How was she treated by the many strangers she encountered every day?), we are not merely bystanders.
The woman ate noodles while listening to the radio, tuning into Gold 90.5FM. The audience kept hearing the radio station's promotional jingle, “Sounds Good, Feels Good,” but Miss Lau never appeared joyful. After watching the play, the audience is unlikely to feel joyful either. The play is part of the Singapore Art Museum's exhibition “Everyday Practices”, and as the audience left the museum, we can't help but realize that what we think of as “daily life” is far from being "normal": in 2024, the suicide rate among those aged 30 to 39 has significantly increased— how can that be our “everyday”? News of lone individuals dying in their homes has become increasingly frequent, yet the Singapore Ministry of Social and Family Development does not track the number of elderly people who die alone at home— how can that be our “everyday”?
Dramaturg Alfian Sa’at made some adaptations to the script, and together with director Oliver Chong, chose the title “Request Programme” instead of “Request Concert.” Was this to remind us not to view our everyday lives as mere TV programs? That we should be aware of undercurrents beneath the banality of everyday life? After watching Karen Tan’s performance, as I stepped out of the art museum and wandered through the city, the seemingly "everyday" city scape suddenly seems different. Perhaps we should start taking a long hard look at our inclinations for hedonic adaptation.
Performance watched: July 19, 2025, 8PM, at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM Tanjong Pagar Distripark), presented by Alfian Sa’at and Oliver Chong.
Translated with the help of DeepL.com (free version)
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