剧评：Puppet Origin Stories @ One-Two-Six: Only Puppets in the Building
挖掘记忆、发挥想象 —— 观《偶起源故事@126：楼里只有偶》
Images courtesy of The Finger Players. Photos by Poh Yu Khing.“1992年，一些剧团【陆续】搬入位于经禧路126号的经禧艺术中心。团员们全是戏偶，却对此浑然不知。它们以此为家，尽管这个家短暂且充满变故【随时面临被终止租约的可能】。”
十指帮核心成员陈宇泱以此为发想，策划第四季也是最终季的《偶起源故事@126：楼里只有偶》，邀请经禧艺术中心的另外三个剧团租户，重新想象与叙述他们的起源故事——必要剧场的《必要线索》（The Necessary String）、Teater Kami的《守护者》（Penunggu / Guardian）、无极限默剧团（Mime Unlimited）的《猫与无脸少女》（Cat and The Faceless Maiden）
而这个“短暂且充满变故的家”，不正是《偶起源故事@126》或偶戏，乃至本地剧团/剧场工作者的生存处境的巧妙譬喻吗？
《偶起源故事@126》系列的起源：跨界与实验
然而十指帮通过融合传统偶戏及现代剧场，一再证明偶戏“作为一种艺术形式的韧性，以及其跨越时间、空间、类型的能力”（借用十指帮时任艺术总监钟达成在场刊中的话）。
继承十指帮一贯对传统与历史的尊重，十指帮上一任联合艺术总监陈宇泱与骆丽诗，从2020年开始，把剧团20多年来创造的戏偶的制作背景与设计秘辛，整理成网上资料库——“偶起源故事”（Puppet Origin Stories, 简称POS）。除了回顾与致敬，这些“偶起源故事”也起着展望与启迪的作用——一如传统偶戏对十指帮剧作的启迪。有鉴于此，宇泱与丽诗同时发起了《偶起源故事@126》系列的年度剧目。这系列的年度剧目每年会邀请三个来自不同领域的艺术工作者，以“偶起源故事”资料库中的戏偶为角色与发想，创作全新的偶戏，让它们“重获新生”。
“作为这个系列的首季演出，《126》树立起一个高标杆，打破了‘偶戏仅是传统艺术或儿童戏剧’的刻板印象，展现出偶戏的成人向，也让剧场观众看到了偶戏的魅力与可能性。”
这是我在2022年观看第一季《偶起源故事@126》后写下的剧评。（详见《探索偶戏的魅力与可能性——观〈偶起源故事@126〉》）
2023年，第二季《偶起源故事@126：人物悖论》，则通过偶戏探讨戏偶或人物对自己命运的掌控/无法掌控及身份认同。（详见我的剧评《不是偶戏的偶戏——观〈偶起源故事@126：人物悖论〉》）2024年，第三季《偶起源故事@126：限时占领》，三位导演分享了他们对梦想与自由的想法和困惑。（详见梁海彬的剧评《为了飞翔——观〈偶起源故事@126：限时占领〉》）
《偶起源故事@126》系列通过“跨界”与“实验”，尝试对抗现实的各种生存处境。前三季九个作品风格各异，探讨的课题也相当多元，而且展现的“粗生”状态（借用郭宝崑1990年代在电力站举办的实验剧场“粗生剧场”系列的“粗生”概念），不一定完美，却开拓了各种可能性。
《偶起源故事@126》的终结：记忆与想象
本地剧团/剧场工作者何尝不是富有韧性，一再应付生存处境的各种变故？
而“记忆”与“想象”，便是他们抵抗现实与变故的武器。
《必要线索》
《偶起源故事@126：楼里只有偶》的《必要线索》由必要剧场的哈里斯·沙玛（Haresh Sherma）编剧、十指帮的元老陈鸣阗导演，讲述两个戏偶在经禧艺术中心创办了第一个完全由偶主导、为偶演出的剧团，却遭人类政府以煽动偶与人类之间的仇恨与歧视为由，未经审判即遭逮捕。
熟知本地剧场史的观众必然看得出，这部作品建基于必要剧场及其他剧团/剧场工作者与国家机器角力的经历。必要剧场在1992年至2000年落户经禧艺术中心时期，由于赴美参与“被压迫者剧场”（Theatre of the Oppressed）工作坊，被《海峡时报》标签为马克思主义剧团，导致论坛剧场（Forum Theatre）在本地有近10年无法获得官方赞助，必要剧场险些解散。（可参考《早报》邓华贵报道《本地论坛剧场/叫停后的大转变》）在冷战格局下，新加坡建国至1980年代，不少具批判性的剧团/剧场工作者在未经审判的情况下被内政部监视或逮捕。
《必要线索》以偶代入，通过记忆与想象来再现这段沉重的历史，并指出抱持希望总会有出路。
《守护者》
《偶起源故事@126：楼里只有偶》的《守护者》，由Teater Kami的莫莉·莫特（Moli Mohter）编剧、十指帮核心成员辛杜拉·卡丽达斯（Sindhura Kalidas）导演，讲述一个从经禧艺术中心还是一片肉豆蔻种植园时就守护此处的幽灵，引导新晋的幽灵，了解这个地方的丰富历史，也分享各个剧场工作者的故事。
观众化身新晋的幽灵，聆听守护者（老戏骨Rafaat Hamzah饰演）娓娓道来——其中有关于舞台监督（stage manager）及女演员的暧昧故事，也有Teater Kami的女演员探讨敏感课题而遭到马来社群批评的经历。
除了与国家机器的角力，剧场工作者往往还要抵抗主流的大叙事与价值观，以开拓具建设性的对话，而不是对敏感课题避而不谈。
《猫与无脸少女》
《偶起源故事@126：楼里只有偶》的《猫与无脸少女》由无极限默剧团的陈粹林（Liz Sergeant Tan）编剧、十指帮钟达成导演。无极限默剧团由陈粹林的母亲——克里斯汀娜（Christina Sergeant）在1993年创办，1996至2006年期间落户艺术中心。克里斯汀娜在2013年去世。《猫与无脸少女》讲述一只猫在旧工作室的阈限空间（liminality）里，引导一个对事物充满好奇的小女孩与被人遗忘的剧场工作者无脸少女会面。
小女孩似乎代表着新晋的剧场工作者，无脸少女则象征着资深的剧场工作者，两人展开了探讨艺术创作的对话。小女孩钻进无脸少女挖掘她的记忆，并掏出她内心的面具，让她戴上的画面，既震撼、逗趣，也富有深意。小女孩的天真无邪，让无脸少女敢于正视自己的记忆。
挖掘记忆、正视记忆，才能启动想象。记忆与想象提供给我们抵抗国家机器、主流大叙事和价值观，以及创造富有意义的对话的力量。
终结：希望与出路
可惜《偶起源故事@126》的最大特色（固定在十指帮身处的经禧艺术中心内上演），却也是其局限，难逃向现实的生存处境作出妥协。宇泱接受《早报》采访时说道：“也许有人认为，在艺术中心有主场优势，比进剧场更方便，但其实经禧中心地处高地，建筑内有三层楼，没有电梯，每晚只能容纳60名观众，是对人力、物流和成本的考验。” 基于空间限制、经济效益等等现实考量，借着时任艺术总监钟达成在2026年即将卸任的契机（十指帮从2020年起，采取轮流艺术总监的模式运作，三年一轮），2025年第四季的《偶起源故事@126》也将告一段落。
不过以十指帮/偶戏/剧场工作者的韧性，抱持希望，继续挖掘记忆、继续发挥想象，在先驱的守护下，总会开拓各种可能性、各种出路。
关于演出：2025年11月2日，8PM，经禧艺术中心，十指帮 呈现
Unearthing Memory, Activating Imagination — On Puppet Origin Stories @126: Only Puppets in the Building
Original Text in Chinese by: Teo Eng Hao
Machine Translated by: ChatGPT 5.2
Human Vetted by: Teo Eng Hao
“In 1992, several theatre companies gradually moved into the Cairnhill Arts Centre at 126 Cairnhill Road. The troupe members were all puppets, though they were entirely unaware of this fact. They made this place their home, even though it was a short-lived and volatile one (constantly facing the possibility of having their lease terminated). ”
Taking this premise as her point of departure, core member of The Finger Players, Ellison Tan, curated the fourth—and final—season of Puppet Origin Stories @126: Only Puppets in the Building. She invited three fellow tenant companies of the Jalan Kilang Arts Centre to re-imagine and re-narrate their origin stories: The Necessary String by The Necessary Stage, Penunggu / Guardian by Teater Kami and Cat and the Faceless Maiden by Mime Unlimited.
This “short-lived and volatile home” is surely a subtle metaphor for the survival conditions faced not only by Puppet Origin Stories @126, or puppetry as an art form, but also by local theatre companies and theatre practitioners at large.
The Origin of the Puppet Origin Stories @126 Series: Interdisciplinarity and Experimentation
Yet, by fusing traditional puppetry with contemporary theatre, The Finger Players have repeatedly demonstrated the “resilience of puppetry as an art form, and its ability to transcend time, space, and genre”—to borrow the words of current Artistic Director Oliver Chong from the programme notes.
In keeping with the company’s longstanding respect for tradition and history, former Co-Artistic Directors Ellison Tan and Myra Loke began, in 2020, to compile the production backgrounds and design secrets of the puppets created over the company’s 20-plus-year history into an online archive—Puppet Origin Stories (POS). Beyond retrospection and tribute, these “origin stories” also serve as sources of foresight and inspiration, much like how traditional puppetry has continually inspired The Finger Players’ works.
From this impetus, Ellison and Myra launched the annual Puppet Origin Stories @126 performance series. Each year, three artists from different disciplines are invited to create entirely new puppetry works, using puppets from the POS archive as characters and creative prompts—allowing these puppets to be “reborn.”
“As the inaugural season of the series, 126 set a high benchmark. It shattered the stereotype that puppetry is merely a traditional art form or children’s theatre, revealed its adult-oriented potential, and allowed theatre audiences to glimpse the allure and possibilities of puppetry.”
I wrote this in my review after watching the first season of Puppet Origin Stories @126 in 2022 (see Exploring the Charm and Possibilities of Puppetry—On Puppet Origin Stories @126).
In 2023, the second season, Puppet Origin Stories @126: Persona Paradox, explored themes of agency, lack of control over one’s fate, and identity through puppetry (see my review Puppetry That Is Not Puppetry—On Puppet Origin Stories @126: Persona Paradox). In 2024, the third season, Puppet Origin Stories @126: Temporary Occupation, saw three directors sharing their reflections and uncertainties about dreams and freedom (see Neo Haibin’s review For the Sake of Flight—On Puppet Origin Stories @126: Temporary Occupation).
Through “interdisciplinarity” and “experimentation,” the Puppet Origin Stories @126 series attempts to push back against real-world survival conditions. The nine works from the first three seasons varied widely in style and thematic focus, and embodied a state of “raw” (borrowing Kuo Pao Kun’s concept of Raw from his experimental theatre Raw Theatre series at The Substation in the 1990s). They were not necessarily polished—but they opened up new possibilities.
The Conclusion of Puppet Origin Stories @126: Memory and Imagination
Are not local theatre companies and practitioners themselves resilient beings, constantly responding to unpredictable survival conditions?
And “memory” and “imagination” are precisely the tools they wield to resist reality and upheaval.
The Necessary String
In Puppet Origin Stories @126: Only Puppets in the Building, The Necessary String is written by Haresh Sharma of Necessary Stage and directed by veteran Finger Players member Tan Beng Tian. It tells the story of two puppets who establish the first theatre company at the Cairnhill Arts Centre run entirely by puppets and performing exclusively for puppets—only to be detained without trial by the human government for allegedly inciting hatred and discrimination between puppets and humans.
Audiences familiar with local theatre history will immediately recognise that this work is grounded in the lived experiences of The Necessary Stage and other theatre practitioners in their confrontations with the state apparatus. During Necessary Stage’s residency at the Cairnhill Arts Centre from 1992 to 2000, its participation in Theatre of the Oppressed workshops in the United States led The Straits Times to label the company as Marxist. As a result, Forum Theatre in Singapore was denied public funding for nearly a decade, pushing Necessary Stage to the brink of dissolution (see Deng Huagui’s Lianhe Zaobao report, Local Forum Theatre: A Major Shift After the Halt). Under Cold War conditions from independence through the 1980s, many critical theatre practitioners in Singapore were surveilled or detained without trial by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
By substituting puppets for humans, The Necessary String re-presents this heavy history through memory and imagination, while affirming that hope may still offer a way forward.
Guardian
Guardian, written by Moli Mohter of Teater Kami and directed by Finger Players core member Sindhura Kalidas, tells the story of a spirit who has guarded the site since it was still a nutmeg plantation. The spirit guides a newly initiated ghost through the site’s layered history, while sharing stories of the theatre practitioners who once worked there.
The audience assumes the role of this novice ghost, listening as the Guardian—performed by veteran actor Rafaat Hamzah—recounts tales ranging from a stage manager’s ambiguous relationship with an actress, to a Teater Kami actress’s experience of being criticised by the Malay community for addressing sensitive issues on stage.
Beyond their struggles with state machinery, theatre practitioners must also resist dominant narratives and values, in order to open up constructive dialogue rather than avoiding sensitive topics altogether.
Cat and the Faceless Maiden
Written by Liz Sergeant Tan of Mime Unlimited and directed by Oliver Chong, Cat and the Faceless Maiden draws from the company’s history. Mime Unlimited was founded in 1993 by Liz’s mother, Christina Sergeant, and was based at the arts centre from 1996 to 2006. Christina passed away in 2013.
The work tells of a cat who, within the liminal space of an old studio, guides a curious young girl to meet the Faceless Maiden—a forgotten theatre practitioner.
The girl seems to represent emerging theatre practitioners, while the Faceless Maiden symbolises veteran artists. Through their dialogue on artistic creation, the girl delves into the Maiden’s memories, extracting the mask hidden in her heart and placing it upon her face. This moment is at once striking, humorous, and deeply resonant. The girl’s innocence gives the Faceless Maiden the courage to confront her own memories.
Only by excavating and facing memory can imagination be set in motion. Together, memory and imagination provide the strength to resist state machinery, dominant narratives, and prevailing value systems—and to create meaningful dialogue.
A Pause, Not an End
Regrettably, the defining feature of Puppet Origin Stories @126—its site-specific performances within the Cairnhill Arts Centre itself—is also its limitation, one that necessitates compromise with real-world survival conditions. In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Ellison explained:
“Some may think that performing at the arts centre gives us a home-ground advantage and is more convenient than entering a theatre, but in reality, the Jalan Kilang Arts Centre sits on elevated ground, has three floors without lifts, and can only accommodate 60 audience members per night. This poses challenges in manpower, logistics, and cost.”
Given spatial constraints, economic considerations, and the impending departure of then Artistic Director Oliver Chong in 2026 (The Finger Players have adopted a rotating Artistic Director model since 2020, on three-year terms), the fourth season in 2025 will mark the conclusion of Puppet Origin Stories @126.
Nevertheless, with the resilience of The Finger Players, of puppetry, and of theatre practitioners—by holding on to hope, continuing to unearth memory, and continuing to activate imagination—under the guardianship of those who came before, countless possibilities and pathways will surely continue to emerge.
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