108 ____unpercover PRODUCTION NOTES SCENE Undercover was fist produced in Singapore by TheatreWorks in Noverber 1854 “The production was directed by Lok Meng Chue. The cast was as follows: sap weap Lim Kay Tong, parury erurr Benjamin Ng ‘anc Casey Lim nd Douty parton oneyiaNe Tan Kheng Hua oer (CHARACTERS varure weap Head of the Department peor berry Deputy Head ofthe Department xen ‘rane Person in charge ofthe Centre DOLLY PARTON ONGIIANE Intelligence Officer to Amember ofthe Centre oor sacs A member ofthe Centre map wx Amember ofthe Cente parry [UNO _Amember of the Cente =a ‘An imaginary country. The present. A government offic Head is at his desk. Deputy enters carrying a file ‘Ah, Deputy: Is this the day when our new man comes? Yes, sit. And no. Yes and no? Thats right, siz Is the day, but itis't aman. They haw sent us a woman officer (shaking his head) A woman? (sadly) Unfortunately sie ‘Awoman intelligence officer That, Deputy, i what I we call a contradiction in terms, Beacly what [told myself sie (Cant we sop her with a man from ales critical department, ike the army, perhaps? ‘We already tried that, sit-They wrote back to say thanks no thanks, Not in so many words, ofcourse. What were their exact words? “We have the technology, so we don't need any women, ‘quote, unquote It Tooks ike we are stuck with her, Anyway, we do have orders to try her out. wasnt aware ofthat, sit “That's because the only person who's supposed to kn this in the department is me, You are not senior enoug know that ‘But now [know si ‘es, that is because T've just told you. ‘But you just said Lam not supposed tobe told Yes. But ike you. You do, sr? Yes, quite a lotin fact Lam wortied, st Have no fear, Deputy, Lwon't let my personal feling get in the way of professional duties. At least not dit office hours.| did't mean that, si meant hope you have done nothing wrong in revealing to me information whi aq ot supposed to know. ‘Are you questioning my judgement? Notatall si Good. hope this experiment with women fils Why i? Tit succeeds, we might be swamped with women. have lays believed thatthe eal reason we men got work sy escape from women during daylight hours. Indeed, sc Besides if we have too many women hee there would ke rave administrative problems Such a, sir? Well have to convert half of our gents t ladies. dont ike having the gents only on alternate floors, Deputy. Te would be a great inconvenience indeed, sit ‘Then there are the management problems ‘Management problems? ‘Yes! They willbe hiding in tei tet half the time. There willbe no way of knowing what transpires behind the Ladies sign. Andi the management doesnot know what ls going on, how isthe management going to manage? Particularly since our department moto i: we make ‘everybody's business our busines, see what you mean, sc. You know, Deputy am quit out of my depth when itcomes to women. Tell me, do you have experience “handling” women? Yes sir handle my wile and mother daw dally. ‘You must have an interesting home ie! Erm, “Tha’sajustjoke, Deputy a ite oke (unceffainty) Ab, yes. Ha, a. So, in the igh of your extensive experience, Deputy, how shuld one pert with pet thn wore? Wh espe But oto much The ualty we ned thew a's palo They tend pool “emperinentt ‘ane Ural? Tey ae aie ton he say de TM hanes you put heen sed the verge homes bie? Thats ph cn be edad oa inple quan of dey Thing whch ve we ceed hi ew fcr? Yess Wehave had her eogen and rogers ded ot er pote? Sex promising edig rm le Stes stance fat: Niger thn eee Commltnet ogre god Acting tity ecru In uses erent Spears andap Ate der th cmd in ‘heh hey we tne Ihe can only gos fe Dep sth perormane on the jo tet wl the cheep en pnts Drs he have any expres? Nowe Bel! onthe hs rs det noma ‘rate al Tey come tte service wthal manne precnsired eas ad we ave spend years tying © rc tei thom th Depry Tie one ser fo thier at On the aj of whch ope shat fr se nd rant (Checking ink sh’ from he ational uve Tae at ean {nds ent Nyse says ert sh’ ro he tenga ey(retrial) And ha seeped be ete? Toppan et Bathenours at? Monours at clan Mel tat doesent some Yukon Deputy, jute yo and oe ‘evar Teton yu and me smeties tink ht ou alin 1s eli ttn nnn or manpowe: ‘tocaton etittnding row optinat Mosniang or manpower slleaon otha i several Tact hay Dea grt rh tat’ as coe thf an imonitor oe wansorn ae STENT aah i abeys ope oan no tod puna After a ito earn ta anit ca ena ak what wha done ih yor-oal ‘ebm agen te pert Why one hy you might even Seu ut Thave vas apie how fahren pect my pr odes wat Yevae Show th Gao pantin tpn ety ndersending) ls. aot oe yur it pes gain Hah apes go ot one! nee yung trative wma ne es Deny, ‘in disappointment) What's this, Deputy. You: thar neha ae ond kn! Thankyou se (ae p hand silence me) Rely se Whee oneal plan women? uly hyo alin he iy se aro fhe stead ono national sion isthe ohn wg ith i “Tey You ok to goed nt neo work, we mst et eto atracve ofr tate toy That cen of Ahrens wy th Head and hve nota Yee stint on tc ome Wats ane Daly aon Ong se What edo mn that By he ways Dy Paco the sags wth he mimes Shiba) Tow tat What kind of same that fran Intaigene ees? otk, haat eld tat tis cbjctonbe ight cbr Dolly Orit Pare? Your nme mast be orn a your loos thad bern someting ore cbecue ie Mase Onnend Ong hen ing ust hve ben acopte, She deity as to change Yes ange Chang at ‘es You name, your, verti. In ft we could change your ux I wed Rae ated on that oo Unforsnnty ofan county ony the army has te echo May Touareg Jane at sigh ic ponyti=singe pny ed atthe Youtmem ono att about a Twarted to bcome abutter oc een the age of and. ren weno Landon ke wpa dpama What happened? i (Oh Thad ge pac was aot shampoo, Laer ranted tbe depsce eB Id ge bat upto ‘ene meta grninen her lic er Thats enough about you, we cane hte etal or ourscene 1 ane ase pe ctaayNow how hut matte? Noma nn mor nis Lee Yo, cen rend nd mac eos Seecnigeae Ratton Tate wt ny ek de ‘es emanate wma hep yorker nen thr Ong? ma ad ie mae Pave "eine on, Jun Notte ia ee of cn, (ey pla oh ie Wap a lat Dept wl cogs Yauebat Jet rg hep your teat tote depute e Cinting fn tytn Yam tat oe ‘taking this rather well... Jane... i (ol a iin ty wl We we tag inte inatgnes st et we ng eee ang ‘ring apn pg Ba That te ogg td hea? ett tis Beth ew atten je whe ees Gin eaten od Ainge Youbrpa bp hy a a you no conn get Tera get No at eae ‘reser Raton eens Ther maybe fee nten pare Wyte ‘Because we play it dung enh her evry dy ‘And atendance compulsory. {at yur we onthe inter departent ridge Competition anal fhe ve years before that We dont rant oon he ep Yer we ae ply run nour wok he ane Tort hnow ican ick tp {to Deputy isnt the vane chemi peoblem srfaing ainsi? oubt tate ‘Un. youre a woman Jane but we have fath in you. And yon mont tar our thy having faith in youre Xe Jar, women can play bridge. {ej that ty cant player wll—but wel oss thatridge when we come tot Head els at Deputy, ho fre laugh Deputy lok at ime, we frce snug Yeni ‘Dat you wilt lear the game et wont 0, Jane? Fer the department? ‘ef wl But digo that women — (ood! Tats the atid ‘Thankyou, i ut dont hin that trae women Then eal etd i? Iesal ted se Baio them ok intently at Jone, hooves. (finaly) Yr sit suppose ocd an hee are ro ana you il ne for your vworkbere “Thankyou sic (ede tls) "Procedure foe nligence Surelane” and “The ABCs of Coren Bridge" “Trt them as your Old and New Testaments Jane. [sow tie fey, 1ASuinaleady Is most eneine. Lets gotothe bridge oom. Tlin you in aint seUNDERCOVER Janet Yorsc (4 end ond Jn end out) Alig t's sat fro the Sesion How many cra ein apc Incing the tes? Thee ro ern rg Jn: Deny ot in iy ‘Head and Jane exit. Deputy takes out a notebook from a pope Certs)" july He made sme sexs ema, oth in sbvence and proence fe ofc Ao oie toes oo much of henry entre, Went han 44114. forthe out ay runing Mt important Gidget me ofl eet wich Tam ot ete tobe Privy to.” Buco cauane une ‘The Centre. The place has «leftist, shoestring feel. Opens to darkness. Qiang is o the sof, snoring. A lok clicks. ‘Giang turns: ll is quiet snores resume. Wily, in all Mack sich oma torchlight and shines i squarely on Qiang’s face. Qiang snort, turns the other wny turns back, and slowly opens his eyes. A moment in wohich he is unconscious oftwhere hei. Then Qiang jumps up. He is wearing only shorts, Pulls Blanket round him. Willy keeps the light trained om Qiang’ face. Heh Whats happening? Gt the ight out of my eyest It ‘one of your stupid jokes again, Sandy? (wares ard for bis shirt) Quit fooling around will you, and put the ight on! By the way, what ie ist? ‘Silence. Qiang stares int the light ‘Sandy? Qiang moves towards Willy. Willy switches off the light (Qiang crashes into something. Shit What the—Sandy, for the lat ne would you put on ‘thebloody!— Fram the otter side ofthe room, Fl, also in ll lack, switches ona torchlght and tains it on Qiang’ fae. Tight Okay, thejke's over. just want my shirt. (pause) ‘Who the ell are you guys? Linda lights « match from point inthe room different from Willy, Flo and Qiang. The light flickers for a moment, then Linda lights a cigarette with it. Ske drews on it and blows the smoke out slowly What do you guys—What the fuck are you doing here? (cool but forceful throughout felling) Give Nim his shirt. Flo throws a shirt to Qiang. Silence. 1 don fel ke wearing it now. This is my— Put the shit on. {wont bloody do whst you tll me. This my room, ‘godammitUNDERCOVER anne auune Putthe shict ont (to Willy) Coo it, Nobody wil hurt you. Weare the government. want to se identifications — (Cros hi identification) Natarally— (oithout looking et identification) Do you have swarrant— (rows him search warrant) Fresh and duly si (thou looking at warrant) Look, you have got ‘man, Ihave done nothing wrong, ‘That i fr us to find out. Dont you even want to ‘our papers? =“ ma repeal sh more you cooperate, the faster we will be through ° Eeaaiee ad (ng sen prt bl costly hep tesesnar aia a ‘tg hat do ea met? Youbet hee ong See ce Fe ges aes nciapaceey ee eee of eileen FE aeesoneadaan Yane QIANG Ske yourtin Fang Weave Se ee ee ean ra a eae alg totam i Se eee isa Line to. to. Have you been trying to get he the Bread Line to start. start... Have you been ‘et the members ofthe Bread Line to start. some scene us ete. (sudden shit noc) Why sito dain hee? {pana Si pase forgot my nes Al ight top! ight Lights up, to reveal that this i playin earl Othe must thisappen every ine Fa? sorry Can't you ever gett right lo? This the Sh tine! Look Tid sorry aed. Thats enough forthe day everbody. (ge oF hugs her) Youave a memory ike «lve you know that, lo? ‘Thats teense my mind'son othe thing. Flores to hang on thm, bt without being rough or hurting, he pals ay. (to Wily, ho seems to bein dee thought) Whats the ster, Wily? Tam wondering if this is what aly happens when hey come to get you Whe thet ows, Wily? if we dont nor then are’ we misrepresenting things? etic lcence, Wily Besides, have stalin an imaginary country remember? Sono one con seas ws of making things vp Wl acl ort the play worked that what oun i Linda hugs Qiang—perty or F's ent as ero, but he pulley ato not ough {owt know Fm fil ot happy with it Flo hugs Qiang partly for Linde’s beni ax here, but he pul ay Bat hy, daring? Thinks not fnny enough. You did wnt a comedy thas why ‘What am sayings maybe it should have This sounds kes going tobe even more una You se maybe i's beter to make ajoke ot otal. Levy foc gravity L wan tora ther laugh Bagsane ‘une UNDERCOVER Cette nerd! Yes. wet eth ud on Then when heya ‘al eneying teste hy ay ede le dag tis aly et fry ea dow init ght maken oft [vor gettn i tle Thpe (pause, them a bit too cheerfully) C'mon guys, don't be 0, Pera Nosed rw aye But don't wah meth one sting he preetet But heres anche plen with ply Mase fendamera An eet ie “ prado prs fe ply {aco pla cpg ht yo dissent, right? mye ao Wl yes Ith ply an camp fdr? Nici of tem mo dba Ye would ay So-tets fr aunent tk, colder one oe sceaio“lets ay ty alow ut play prom pret tboerinl ad “ Yeu Tht woud death heya aia eft sen Andee ly remit yo intolerant te pee wold ay he nag Ye ut what hyd allow ite sagdt By caning the lay chs n aplenty ‘rule shown bela of der Then plays Freie wos te ome ot Bray So pay pee wok Netqute Frm hang Can wep fore con? Wai oun Wy th ply bare ae ina {spe hero play hen reno promi So ile plays penn gh thn he ply wl no tnd he wb ih ng ws proe ght tne weave sie ny tage iti Hy une aun scene? : a meaningless because it doesnot fl the rth, and the play is not staged, tbecomesuseles asa play because a play ‘murt—by dfrition—be staged befor itbecomes apy. ‘Weare stuck with play which makes no sence ether way. Aparndox! Yen, Since everyone isin agreement now, does that mean we an ‘g0for hunch? Jane entre, now looking plain according to order. Her hairstyle, ee is new. The transformation must be dramatic bot instantly recognisable. elo ot hi Tee you are inthe middle of something ‘Maybe Thetter come back later. 'No, no. Come in. You must be Jane. ‘Wel certainly am not Dolly Paton. Caughs) (hows “bretsts") Not that you lack the equipment. Yes ob, yes, thank you (extending his hand) hang, ‘You look diferent from what had expected (teasingly) know, most people thik Tam much younger (isreading him) No, [don't mean that. mean, you look ‘much beter than—oh never nd. ‘iach out for him, Jane, He's a expert in tapping people {nto saying things lke that. ‘Yes, Lama smoath operator Jane, who has Been holding on to Qlang’s hand, releases it twith oo much slf-consciousness. "Everybody, meet Jane. And Jane the members ofthe Centre (as they exchange ellos) The big mouth here is none other than Bags. Thats Flo, Linda and Wily. Jane say she ‘wants toelp outin the Centre. She's a vil servant in the Ministry of? Internal Afi I dort know if willbe of any help. ‘Well we're putting up pla: Lam playing the lead opposite (ang, (cuddles Qiang) And we need actrests.une aN aun ——_—_——_—} ‘Those who can remember their lines, that i ‘Shuddup. Have you acted before? [Bit parts, in school A longtime ago. ‘Looking at you, that ean'tbe that long ago. (fustered) Yes, no, 1 meas — ‘Therehe goes again. you really want to know, acting’s very easy. ‘That's Marlon Brando ofthe East talking. ‘Seriously All you have to doje pretend tbe who you are nat. ‘Oh, Fm not really wed to that— ‘Don’t just stand there taking that in ike he's thrown you. some peas of wisdom! Ignore them while you have that luxury. You won'thave the chance once you get to know them. Why don’t you gays carry on first. show Jane around the place. Lunch finally. All exit except Qiang and Jane. Qiang stare at Jane, ‘assessing her. She stands there rather uncomfortably. Thad not expected you tobe so good looking. Of Tm sony. ‘You sound lke somebody hasbeen ting you that being attractive ie fault Ymnot sure anymore enti? "No, on the contrary. Show me your legs. why? ‘To see your credentials, ld know that was a prerequisite to join the Centre, ‘Giang indicates with hs finger for Jane to lift her hem. Jane does 0, but tentatively. Qiang indicates that he wants her to iftit higher ‘Hmm... Very good. I must get beter acquainted with them some time. Jane Bushes. ‘You know what the problem is Jane? Most social workers sane aun: une wane une ma look 20 plain, Like ugliness is a prerequisite. ‘You prefer glamour in your helpers. redisely. Thats why I don't think you are using what you have boen endowed with, Jane? Lam not used to doing that Alvis a matter of orientation. You need to flaunt ita ite, ‘a prety gislike you. You know, you could look very nice you dressup ait. (holds up her chin) Put on some ‘makeup, litle ouge to bring out those cheeks, peshaps, ‘and a red—no pink no not jst pink, but rose—yes, definitly arose lipstick. Show some leg, why not, show plenty of eg That ought to tum some heads eh? Never waste your natural assets, Jane, Bat "No buts Ifyou want tohelp me, you got to listen to me. But ‘Uhh, no buts (nally) Allight Ie ssettled then? ‘Yes, it's ste. ‘Good! Let me show you around the place. Qiang holds out his hand, Jane takes Blackout.Government ofce. Head and Deputy enter ‘She's one of the best beginning players Ihave ever seen i ‘Ab surely you mean best female beginning players ‘She's better than some ofthe men! ‘Come on, Deputy. One shouldnt exaggerate, ‘Tam not se don’ think we could ave thrashed the Sod Development eam without her hep, Presumably, these Social Development people have two of each sex on thei team? Yes ‘That explains everything, They have two men, two women, We have tive men, one woman. We were one man ahead, so we won, naturally Enters Jane, ho now looks as she did in Scene I: the retransformation must again be dramatic. Janet sie (indicates her new appearance) You siet But ou instructions were that you should lok pin! Allis ie within the Line of duty, ic ‘hiss the ist time thave hean that excae given for setting a perm. Everything is explained in this poet sie Wal? Right sx (reading) "Made contact with subject Aby phone 3t2.30p.m. Ananged fora meeting subject's premio. At {820pim, asved at said promises to find subject A together ‘ith his band B,C, D and E. They have ust fnehed. rehearsing a pay” Tell us about thie A. He's quite. Yer? Nice, siz Nice Nice. [And handsome, i ad sbeottely charming. Hindsome ‘And abvootely charming Yossie ‘And you put this in the report we presume? ‘Yes sc (reading) "Agent finds subject tobe quite charming, no, baoltely charming, He—" DO YOU THINK YOU ARE AJUDGE IN A PERSONALITY CONTEST Novsic Patience, Deputy. at me handle this. Now, Jane. Yes sc Let me tell you aboot intaligence work Yes sic ‘Theresa good reason we clit ineligence work and not ‘emotion work. tives this indicates head) and not this (indicates heart To se this indicates head), you mast distance youre rom the subject. Yess [Now how do you maintain this distance? You must top thinking of him as an otinary person. Se him as an animal, ‘say ara inalaboratory, and youself as scientist making ‘observations hen Yes si ‘Do you ever find ascents saying his laboratory mice, “Oh, ‘hese are absolutely charming mice"? Noi ‘Of course, ot So dstancy, stance distance, Distance, si ‘Thats why we cl al our subjects by alphabets nd not names. One day, Jane one dy you might jut se that there’ certain beat poetry, inthis Ye ic No more impressions from now on. Nomore[UNDERCOVER {eelings. We mat be intersted in details, deals and detain, What do the target people do? “They area charitable group, si ‘You mean they are a group engaged in charity? “That's what aid sir No, you sid they area chanitabl group, Now there isan sential and fundamental difference between the two. A ‘hartable group isa group whose main function is charity, “They area good group, ulliately above reproach even if they do a few bad things. On the other hand, a group that oes charity is not necessarily good, fr they may not be lultimately above reproach even fthey do good things. So ‘group that does charity may turn out tobe aba group doing tome god, but oly quite incidentally. Isat that just semantic, si? Precisely. Tha's what the whole game is about see, si. ‘And Jane, tis group. What does it do? ‘They give tuiton to latchkey children, counsel battered wives: Everything about thie chartable— mean, this group ‘that does charity in the Me Inching anewaeter they ‘put out that Ihave marked as Appendix B, sc Hands newsletter to Deputy. (fips through newsletter) Fiman.. asses tom to Deputy. (flips trough newsletter: mimics head) imm.. Pases it on othe Head ‘As you can see sr they are quite critica sit (flip through newsleter 1 se. esses it on t Deputy. (Gips throigh newsletter mics head) Yes, Lee. Passes tonto Jae, Bat you have not explained why youhave -etranaformed youre Wo subject A, st He believes that female sol workers scenes ane ave should look good. Ab ise that kindof man? ‘That kind of man, se? Heed means the kind of men who likes women, only know that sort, i. | ee what you mean about her being fresh frm univer, Deputy. This A, what have we got on isn? Beside that hee nie— ‘And handeome— ‘And charming. Head and Deputy enjoy the jibe ‘Beside all that, I dor know, si Find out everything, Jane. ‘Yes, give us the deals. What has he done? Or more ‘importantly, what has he done wrong? Has he got a police ‘record? To wit has he been fed fr speeding, oad hogging, tering, smoking cigarettes in restricted areas, smoking ganja in any area, nt ushing the tale, breding mosquitoes, Kling protected species— ashe been caught spitting jayoalking gunrunning loan sharking ileal fling and fake goods touting? Ise nto petty theft, major credit ear fraud, minor misdemeanours, ‘rand embezzlement, giving of bribes, reeving of bribes, abating in both, or intending to give, receive or abetin the ving oF receiving of bribes — Inothee words has he been suspected of, charged with, ‘convicted ofr acquitted from, jailed fr or otherwise ‘sentenced to anything in any book including the Penal Code, Minor Ofences Act, Arms and Exploives Act? In ‘other words, is he clean? I want details, details and detail. ‘You will ned to check the police records. ‘Yes sir will work on right away. Is that all sir? (to Head) should tink 0, si? Noy actually. suUNDERCOVER = “Ther is something ese And Ihave nt tld Deputy boca you are nt senior enough tobe told. ‘Shall excuse myself then? [Noned Since the lat we mt I til ke you 1 donthnow what to says Don't say anything in case it wil ncriminate you. Now, Jane, have a surprise for you. Yes si? want you to go undercover But am already underover si. Undercover, tobe more precise. (nother of i litle ‘jokes You relise, Jane, that you ae the frst woman, Ineligence officer we have had the fortune or misfortune cot having? Lam aware ofthat, i and fo privileged. [Nevermind about that gel Since you area testcase Thawe cided that we might s well do some experimenting. Now, Jane, what st that sets you apart from your fellow fcr? si? ‘You area woman! Well observed si Ithelps to have a keen eye in our line of work, Deputy. So, Jane, we may as well use your qualities as a woman ‘our advantage Hove can do that se? [Ris tomy understanding that theres, 26 we put it just now certain kind of man? ‘Theor who ikes women? “Yes precely. And, ane, Its my considered opinion that some ofthese men wil consider you an attractive woman. ‘Wall observed again si “Thankyou. So, we have onthe one hand a man who likes ‘women, namely subject A, and we have onthe other hand _matiractive woman, namely agent): now we pat them together what do we have? ‘Avery dangerous situation sie Na anopportunty! We get ane to sauce himy and when she sacceds, we will have subject A how shall putt. ‘Withis pants down, quote, unquote, si? Precisely! Blan si Absolutely brillant "Never mind about that. have read that fyou wantto have