Blinded, Binded & Trapped in Love

Presented by Migrant Voices & H.O.M.E.

Sponsored by

Supported by & Lee Foundation

16 December 2007 (Sunday)
5pm
Lembu Road Open Square (Near Mustafa Centre)
Click here for the Map

Blinded, Binded & Trapped in Love is a collection of 3 forum theatre pieces performed by migrant workers in Singapore.  Set in their everyday workplace, these vignettes provide insight into the real lives and experiences of construction and domestic workers living among us.  Trapped in an alienating environment characterized by distinct power differentials and asymmetry of information, the characters are forced to make choices. The audience is encouraged to observe, intervene and influence the course and outcome of the play. Devised and directed by Chris Lee, a local arts practitioner, Blinded, Binded & Trapped in Love is Migrant Voices '2nd forum theatre production following the successful run of SOIL, in collaboration with Drama Box in November 06.

For press enquiries, please email prashant@migrantvoices.org

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Biographies

Chris Lee
Till date, Chris Lee Ban Loong has performed in at least 63 theatre, TV or film productions, directed over 10 sets, held over 28 technical production appointments, coached 23 children drama showcases, taught 42 different children drama classes, ran 30 plus school projects and founded four community or school levels theatre groups. A graduate from the 2nd cohort of the prestigious Theatre Training & Research Programme (TTRP) in 2005, Chris trained under Goh Lay Kuan, Kuo Jing Hong, Jean Ng, Leow Puay Tin, Terence Crawford, John Clark, He Bing Zhu, Aarne Neame, Phillip Zarilli, William Sun, among many other equally inspirational, master artists.

Susy Bungsu
Susy is one of the founding members of Migrant Voices.  She serves as the Secretary on Exco and is also in-charge of volunteer management.  Susy is currently exploring her artistic side and was previously enrolled in a sketching class at The Substation.  She loves to write and is part of “Writers’ Connect.  She recited 3 of her poems at “Literati”, also at The Substation. She made her acting debut in a play at the Singapore Drama Educators Association’s Celebrate Drama 2007, “Tales Within Borders”. Susy is currently undergoing a 7-week “Introduction to Art Therapy” course with LaSalle and hopes to apply it to her Migrant Voices activities when she rolls out the creative writing and fine arts workshops next year. 

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Cast

 

Ummairoh
New to Migrant Voices, Ummairoh has been working here for 10 years with the same employer. A vivacious young woman from Indonesia, she also trained to be a counselor with H.O.M.E lending some time to its helpdesk in earlier times. Through her employment, Ummairoh has had the opportunity to work with her employer in London for a year. She hopes to pursue a financial upgrading course in future. This is Ummairoh’s first public stage performance.

Nurifah
Nuri left her hometown, Medan in North Sumatra in 1999 for Singapore to work as a domestic worker. She not only volunteers as a helpliner at TWC2, she also serves as a counsellor at the Indonesian School and Embassy on weekends and has been on the job for five years now. The seasoned counsellor underwent training with H.O.M.E and the Ministry of Manpower.

Sumarni Kramatidja
Arni comes from Central Java and has been working in Singapore as a domestic worker for 16 years. She’s an active volunteer with Darul Arqam and TWC2. She has completed the latter’s helpline training course and spends her weekends manning the helpline. Arni had her first taste in acting when she performed for SOIL in 2006.   

Jeganath Thangamani
Jegan hails from a small village in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, South India. He came to Singapore in 1999 to work as a construction worker. His love for music has spurred him to take up the classical flute with Ustad Sharafat Khan, a sitar maestro who teaches at the Indian Classical Music Centre in Little India. He’s now in the intermediate stage. Jegan dreams of running his own business one day back in India.