After sweeping the Life! Theatre Awards 2006 with her hit play, Everything but the Brain, award-winning playwright Jean Tay takes on a subject close to every true-blue Singaporean's heart – land.
On this tiny red dot, where sand is as precious as gold, homes exchange hands like commodities. Historical icons are constantly being bulldozed in the name of progress. Week after week, we see our forgotten icons of yesteryear – Rochor Centre, Bukit Brown Cemetery and the KTM Railway Corridor – dominating the headlines in the wake of their impending demolition. The gleaming corporate towers and mega-expressways that replace these icons, signal Singapore’s progress to the world – but at what cost?
BOOM puts our property woes into perspective, through tales we have become familiar with. The ageing heartlander - unwilling to sell the home she has grown to love. The conniving property agent - eager to make a quick buck and the idealistic civil servant - assigned with the herculean task of relocating graves.
Welcome to the surreal world of BOOM, where the dead aren't allowed to rest in peace and heaven is a luxury sky villa with A1 designer decor. The line between living and dead, between fantasy and reality, is constantly blurred in this comic yet poignant tale about en blocs and exhumations...
