Gender mender

YOU can't really call playwright-performer Verena Tay's latest project, Between Woman And Man: The Erasure Of Verena Tay, a one-woman show.

That's because it sets out to question assumptions about gender identities, or what it means to be a man or a woman.

The production, which is split up into two parts on two nights, is directed by Richard Chua, who helms Little Red Shop, a theatre company dedicated to small-scale, intimate shows.

Through a series of folk tales, Tay explores male and female identities. Her status as a woman will be tested, stretched and even erased in the performances.

The first show tomorrow is called Male Instincts, and will feature four stories with male protagonists from India, Africa, the Maori tribe from New Zealand and an Aesop's fable she adapted to a Singaporean context.

On Saturday, she presents Women Wise, with three stories dealing with the roles of women, including a Japanese tale where a male wrestler learns from three strong women.

Tay, 41, says the project was inspired by her own personal frustrations with being a woman in Singapore.

'I'm not your typical Singaporean woman. I'm not small, petite or overtly feminine - but I've gotten by,' she says.

'Certain parts of me are strong, such as my ideas, my vision and leadership dynamics. I'm so strong in these areas that I'm interpreted as very male. But does that make me any less of a woman?'

Chua, 34, says: 'We always strive to be clear: A man needs to be a man, a woman, a woman. We don't give spaces in between. I think the most interesting places in life are the in-between ones.'

Adeline Chia

Between Woman And Man: The Erasure Of Verena Tay is on at The Substation Theatre, 45 Armenian Street tomorrow and on Saturday at 8pm. Tickets at $30 for both shows, $20 for one, from Gatecrash (tel: 6222-5595, www.gatecrash.com.sg).