Singkil

by Catherine Hernandez

Singkil premiered as part of Factory Theatre's 2006-07 season.

120 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Catherine Hernandez (she/her) is an award-winning author and screenwriter. She is a proud queer woman who is of Filipino, Spanish, Chinese and Indian descent and married into the Navajo Nation. Her first novel, Scarborough, won the Jim Wong-Chu Award for the unpublished manuscript; was a finalist for the Toronto Book Awards, the Evergreen Forest of Reading Award, the Edmund White Award, and the Trillium Book Award; and was longlisted for Canada Reads. She has written the critically acclaimed plays Singkil, The Femme Playlist and Eating with Lola and the children’s books M Is for Mustache: A Pride ABC Book and I Promise. She recently wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Scarborough, which is currently in post-production by Compy Films with support from Telefilm Canada and Reel Asian Film Festival. She is the creator of Audible Original’s audio sketch comedy series Imminent Disaster. Her second novel, Crosshairs, published simultaneously in Canada and the US and the UK this spring, made the CBC's Best Canadian Fiction, NOW Magazine's 10 Best Books, Indigo Best Book, Audible Best Audiobooks and NBC 20 Best LGBTQ Books list of 2020. Her third children's book, Where Do Your Feelings Live? which is a guide for kids living through these scary times, has been commissioned by HarperCollins Canada and will be published in winter 2022.

Reviews

[Jaclyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful play. I'd love to see it performed on stage and I love that it engages so deeply with the movements and symbolisms of a Muslim Filipino dance. I think it's a play that'll do fantastic on stage, but doesn't quite translate as well onto the page. The fluidity of the time periods and shifting character roles felt confusing to read about, and the parts about the voices Mimi hears and the choreography the characters go through lose some of their power in book format.

[Felicity · Rating 3 out of 5]

"...The real story is of a princess that saves herself."

As a Filipino outside their ancestral country, this is a book that resonates well.

Starved for love and losing touch from her culture, Mimi is a wandering soul that is frustrated and filled with self-hate as well as lingering resentment for the mother she thought she never knew. But there's a catch. She's trying to get to know her mother even though the woman is dead.

Singkil is a unique story and a unique play. It is named after a traditional dance in the southern island of the Philippines in Mindinao, a region filled with just as much folklore as the rest of the country, but with a very distinct background. It is really interesting here because the word "singkil" derives roughly from the meaning "to entangle your feet with anything in your path" and the use of that word is a metaphor for the whole conflict within the play.

Mimi and the rest of the Perez family are in constant war with their past and present, with their different cultures, and with themselves. Essentially they are "entangling" their problems with each other and with utilizing the distinct movements of the Singkil, a formidable picture is formed.

And as someone who is decently versed in Filipino cultural dances as I have danced quite a handful including the Singkil, the use of it throughout the play's script is masterful. This dance is a display of skill, grace, and danger. Each person on the stage portrays a powerful character, whether you are the princess or the prince, the Asik girl, or another royal. Your eyes constantly look downward on the audience, as if you are telling them you are better than them. The prince comes twirling his sword to join you, but in reality the audience is always transfixed on the princess.

This is why, even as a non-Filipino, you should read this book. Sure, there are parts in here completely in Tagalog (but please ask your Filipino friend to translate it for you because they're sometimes kind of funny), but the message using this dance is clear: look down on life's entanglements and step through them because you can...because you can endure.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this play about family histories/identity/relationships/migration. wish I could see it on stage.

[Adelaide Felx · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked Mimi and chase together, but when the scenes would include present Mimi and Maria I would get a little confused