I'm a long, long way from home / And I miss my family so
In the early morning march / When the cold wind blows
It has been ten years since Xavier Ong left National Service. And yet, he is still haunted by a recurring dream in which he is interrogated by a man in army uniform. Each time, Xavier has to revisit his days on Pulau Tekong. Like the first time he timidly touched his newly-shaved head. Or the first time he started using coarse language. And the time he was promoted to a Platoon Sergeant and became the kind of person he swore he would never turn into.
Written by Cut Kafka playwright Neo Hai Bin, 招: When The Cold Wind Blows is a bold, unflinching look at one of Singapore's most emblematic institutions: its military service. It asks whether training for war endows us with a capacity for violence - or merely uncovers something that has always been hiding within us.
