Wild Rice's Homepar pulled by IMDA, MHA for ‘glamourising drug abuse'
The revised script for the Wild Rice production was found to have breached the Arts Entertainment Classification Code. ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
SINGAPORE - A production by theatre company Wild Rice has been pulled by the authorities for 'glamourising drug abuse', just a day before its staging.
The dramatised reading of Homepar by playwright Mitchell Fang has been disallowed in its current form, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a joint statement on June 20.
The revised script submitted on June 5 had substantially changed from the version submitted on April 21, they said.
This earlier script met classification requirements and could be staged under a R18 rating.
However, the revised script was found to have breached the Arts Entertainment Classification Code (AECC).
'The new material depicts and glamorises drug abuse and portrays an undercover Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officer shielding abusers from detection,' said the joint statement.
'It undermines Singapore's anti-drug policy, our drug rehabilitation regime, and public confidence in the CNB. Performances that undermine Singapore's national interest are not permitted under the AECC.'
Homepars are house parties in which the gay nightclub atmosphere is recreated in a living or hotel room.
As Wild Rice has chosen not to revert to the April 21 version of the script, IMDA said it has disallowed the performance in its current form.
The statement added: 'Singapore's firm stance against drugs remains unchanged, and IMDA will continue to uphold the AECC to protect national interest.'
The Straits Times has contacted Wild Rice for comment.
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