The Beauty Within
by Rema Tabangura
In this time,
We need to be positive and calm,
So we won’t be defeated.
To take life as it comes, and find
A way to stand and survive.
I can’t wait to let out my inner child,
Splash my feet and feel ocean.
To row on a boat, or board a ship
With my friends, and admire the beauty within.
I can’t wait to feel the breeze again,
A soothing music to the ears.
To explore once more the beauty of nature.
And embrace the beauty within.
But for now, I stay at home.
Some say they are dying of boredom,
But living in isolation,
In a four-walled room,
Might be the only way that we can stay alive.
We may lose our will,
And our interest in everything,
But hold on,
All this is temporary –
Be positive, lift yourself up,
Find something that can raise your spirits.
Set your minds on the unexpected
And we’ll see unexpected things happen.
Everything will return to normal soon.
Instead of reacting to everything that comes down the road,
Let’s learn and grow ourselves.
I’m learning that at the end of the day what we need most is peace.
So yeah, I don’t mind spending this time in a box or whatever you call it –
We should be thankful for what we have.
We should be thankful that we’re alive.
I’m very thankful,
And I choose to be calm through this difficult time.
Peace fills my soul.
Quiet I will remain,
And enjoy the beauty within.
Trouble
by Hossain Razib
Do you want to hurt me?
Do it. I have come to suffer.
Do you want me to cry?
Make me. I came to cry.
If you want to defeat me, I have lost.
Set me adrift? I am already floating.
Burn me? I will burn.
Now pull me to your chest.
Won’t you take me in?
I have endured everything.
For You
by Hossain Razib
For you a slice of the moon, a plate full of stars,
The blue-green forest of the sky for you.
There is hope in your window, your cry,
A combination of colors in the rainbow for you.
Here, another heart beats for you,
The blood vibrates and sings in my veins for you.
See how calm the Himalayas are for you today,
The vase opens for you, alive like a flower.
All happiness for you, war for you,
A whole world spins before my eyes for you.
For you, the rose, I am still engrossed,
Still finding my impossible way back.
THE TEAM
Director
Grace Lee-Khoo
A director, performer, dramaturg, researcher, educator and producer who works internationally, Grace’s most high profile project is ‘And Suddenly I Disappear: The Singapore-UK ‘d’ Monologues’ which opened at the Southbank Centre in London and toured the U.K. Since 2018, Grace is Associate Artist of David Glass Ensemble, an international collective of radical artists. In 2019-2020 she was appointed a Singapore International Foundation Fellow.
Performer
Tung Ka Wai
Ka Wai holds a Master of Fine Arts (Playwriting) from Taipei National University of the Arts and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (Chinese Studies) from National University of Singapore. His recent theatre projects include What If (M1 Peer Pleasure Youth Theatre Festival 2020), Self-Portrait: A Performative Tour, 《出嫁前夕》Eve of the Wedding Day (春花齐放2020 Rhapsodies of Spring 2020), and The ‘d’ Monologues: A Lecture-Performance by Kaite O’Reilly (SWF 2019).
Performer
Cavan Chang
Cavan is an accomplished artist who has exhibited extensively and performed in groundbreaking works in Singapore. He holds a Certificate in Visual Arts conferred by the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in collaboration with Very Special Arts, Singapore, and Associate Diploma Competency in Performing Arts from King’s International University of Science & Technology, USA.
Producer
Sarah Tang
Sarah Tang is an independent arts manager and producer who has previously worked with companies such as Pangdemonium Theatre, ArtScience Museum and NUS Centre For the Arts. She has produced for theNUS Arts Festival 2017 – 2019, Framing Criticisms by The Substation, and also led the marketing and communications campaign for theatre shows and large-scale art exhibitions, such as Future World: Where Art Meets Science by teamLab.
Technical Stage Manager – Brandon Koh
Audio Describer – Seren Chen
Videography – Ammar Nasrulhaq
Multimedia Operator/
Set Construction – Jorgan Ong
Access Support – Cecilia Lai
Hossain Razib
Rema Tabangura
for sharing your poetry which inspired the creation of alieNATION project
Kristin K Dwek
Natalie Lim
Woon Tien Wei
for your contribution to make alieNATION project possible, as well as
Elle Cheng
Tan Suet Lee
Wiggle Lim
for generously sponsoring tickets for the migrant, deaf and disabled audiences
Shall we talk about parity, not charity in a world that will never be ideally fair?
Shall we talk about the state of being equal, especially in relation to living conditions and social positions?
Shall we talk about their process, not plight?
Let’s not.
Let’s practice listening instead.
