When the past can't be shaken off

FROM now till Sunday, a theatre in Lasalle College of the Arts appears to be haunted by ghosts. But unlike the scary spooks in horror movies, these are melancholy, mournful ghosts, too haunted by their own past to scare anyone else. They move about the space slowly, peering into the dark empty spots. They listen quietly to scratchy records from a bygone era. And they like to replay scenes from a banned play written 46 years ago.

The play they enact scenes from is The Struggle written by Singapore's pioneering dramatist Kuo Pao Kun. It tells of a group of workers who are exploited by their employer, leading to a tragic accident at a factory. Kuo wanted to give a voice to the underclass.

But the play was banned in 1969 by the Singapore government, which pulled the plug just a fortnight before it was set to go on stage. Indeed, the ban has been so pernicious and effective that many dedicated arts lovers, including this writer who owns a collection of Kuo's complete plays in English, had no idea of the play's existence until recently.