“In the end it’s nothing you don’t know”
On the 5th of October, I had the privilege of watching ‘Urinetown’ (not the place, but The Musical), performed and produced by Singapore based theatre company, Pangdemonium.
To summarise, the story is about a town where everyone has to pay to pee due to a severe drought. Water is extremely low, thus daily things involving water, such as peeing, has to be controlled and fees are issued by a singular company, Urine Good Co., headed by one Caldwell B. Cladwell. Whilst people could discreetly do their business in jars or in the bushes to avoid paying, doing so is illegal. Getting caught sentences a person to a supposed “Urinetown”, and they are never seen again.
The plot itself, narrated by one of the law enforcement officers of this town, follows a young man, Bobby Strong, and how he leads the poor folks of the town towards the freedom to pee. *Spoiler alert*: Ultimately, the people do win against Cladwell and take down the very things they once feared. But, because they were using up the water however they pleased now, the very scarce remainders of water in the town were all used up, turned silty, dirty and unusable. In the end, the town turned into the very thing they feared before: a literal Urinetown.
Aside from it being a joy to watch onstage and to admire the impressive set design, the musical covered a great many social behavioural problems in a full display of comedic societal satire.
The entire musical includes topics like water supply shortage, dictatorial power and fear tactics, and the impact of unsustainability. Cladwell represents the people in power using fear and exploitation, taking advantage of the poor to further their materialistic goals. Bobby Strong and the revolution represent what is likely to be most of us, where we know it’s time for action and activism. But then where does the radicality and empowerment actually provide a solution to poverty, the depletion of natural resources, or the uneven distribution of wealth in the world?
The musical uses a great deal of potty humour to mock the entire concept of an extremely flawed society. But despite taking the piss (excuse the pun) out of real world issues, the comedy plays a great part in not only conveying a message of importance, but making the reason we laugh also a reason to care.
It’s easy to dismiss social problems and global crises due to our privilege and inexperience of their impact. No one wants to hear about them because we feel it infringes on the pleasures in our lives. No one wants to believe we’re on the brink of destruction or complete disaster. Apathy grows. Sensitivity dies. Jokes are thrown.
Comedic satire is powerful in that, when you make people laugh at the kind of disastrous humour they make, the juxtaposition makes them rethink how they feel on the topic. ‘Urinetown’ is especially strong as its ending shows just how doomed everyone is when no one thinks through their actions against control. The leader was cruel, yes, but given the circumstances, being given complete freedom is ultimately unsustainable. The town becomes a complete dump, and it’s up to audiences to reflect the heavy truth in the musical’s message. While you laugh at all the piss puns and defecatory jokes, it’s likely you feel terrible at the mirroring reflection it gives on real life situations. After all, art is a reflection of real life.
Unlike many musicals, the characters do actually suffer the heavy consequences of their careless actions and choices. The reality of it is unsettling, and that dislocation and sarcasm jolts everyone’s attention to the issues that prevail in the world today, the world that was yesterday and the world ages before.
So, I hope that this review of ‘Urinetown’ will help you maybe give a crap (sorry again) about how we respond to the world’s constant cry for help. If not, I hope it sparks some sort of discussion of how art in general could possibly flip perspectives, and wake people up.
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