Drama Award Shortlist
Title: Golden Blood 黄金血液
Author: Merlynn Tong
Publisher: Currency Press in association with Griffin Theatre Company
Golden Blood by Merlynn Tong feels like a big-screen thriller, even though it’s got a cast of two. Playing out on the neon streets of Singapore, it desperately claws back the extreme wealth it once knew, holding a rusty machete between its teeth.
When her mother dies, a teenage girl is left alone within the four walls of the only thing she’s inherited—a decaying penthouse in the heart of Singapore. To make matters worse, she’s now in the care of her estranged brother, and he’s not exactly up to the gig. For one, he’s only a few years older than her. And two, he’s a gangster.
Like, an actual one.
Left with next to nothing, the orphaned siblings become a formidable, atypical corporation of two. But it’s not long before cracks begin to show. What is the trade-off for desiring excessive levels of luxury? What should be kept in this world, and what should be offered to the next?
Judges' report
Golden Blood charts the relationship of a teenage girl and her older brother after being orphaned in Singapore. The erstwhile estranged siblings have come from wealth but in the wake of their mother’s death are left destitute and are increasingly caught in illicit dealings. The play explores glittering Singapore’s shadier criminal underworld, and moves like a thriller as it follows the siblings through their young adulthood. Tong’s writing pulses with darkness and humour, exploring the deep, unshakeable bonds of family as well as the furthest limits of these bonds. The exploration of Chinese Singaporean culture, along with the fluid use of Mandarin, Hokkien, Malay and Singlish in the dialogue, offer an inclusive, expansive, and imaginative understanding of what Australian plays can be.
Extract
An extract from Golden Blood 黄金血液 is available here.