SmartyPants And The Swordfish
Art:Dis and Gateway Arts

Gateway Theatre, Black Box
March 21, 2pm

Featuring a cast of six puppeteers with disabilities who perform alongside six mainstream actors, SmartyPants And The Swordfish is an inclusive and engaging theatre experience for children that explores the art of empathy.

The famed legend of a precocious boy who saves Temasek, now Singapore, from a swordfish attack is given a fresh spin by playwright Jean Tay, who re-examines ideas of heroism and bullying from multiple perspectives.

At the centre of the meta-theatrical play are students pondering how to tell the story – drawn from the literary classic Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) – of the young Nadim, killed by the jealous king who sees the boy as a threat to his power.

Tay cycles through different perspectives – the king, his ministers, the boy, the swordfish and the villagers – in this elegant exercise that invites children to think about what it means to adopt another point of view.

The interactive play, directed by Samantha Scott-Blackhall and Tan Beng Tian, was first staged in 2019 without puppets. Now, with six puppeteers – Alexavier Ang, Filmer Tan, Isaac Tan, Janel Jiang, Mary Tan and Timothy Lee – the show achieves a heightened sense of wonder and magic.

When a suspended blue cloth – representing the ocean – is draped from the ceiling and engulfs the crowd of students watching, everyone is dazzled. A scene told from the perspective of the swordfish is particularly entertaining, extending the empathy beyond the realm of other humans.

Actors Claris Tan, Jeremy Leong, Johanna Van, Periyachi Roshini, Wayne Lim and Zaini Hassan – who play multiple roles throughout the show – bring a warmth to their ensemble performance that charms the young audience.

The original story is a violent one – Redhill or Bukit Merah, where Gateway Theatre is located, got its name from the blood of the boy spilled on the hill – but the script deals with it sensitively, without losing its provocative edge.

While it is framed as a play with a post-show dialogue that teaches how to identify and prevent bullying, the play features much more nuanced ideas that will enchant young theatre lovers.

Book It/SmartyPants And The Swordfish

Where: Black Box, Gateway Theatre, 3615 Jalan Bukit Merah
When: March 23, 11am and 3pm; March 24, 11am
Admission: From $35. Concession for persons with disabilities at $18, and 15 per cent off for a family of four
Info: str.sg/aZx2