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From Stage to Print
Dragonflies
Winner of The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards 2018 for Production of the Year, Best Original Script and Best Lighting
The year is 2021 and climate change is wreaking havoc across the globe. Donald Trump has been re-elected US President for a second term. Brexit is in full effect and causing chaos all over Europe. In the wake of escalating wars in the Middle East, famine in West Africa, and relentless terrorist attacks by radical extremists, the UK—and many nations around the world—has enforced a ban on all immigration.
With the coastline around him and life as he knows it crumbling to dust, Leslie Chen is forced to abandon his home in England and move his family back to his birthplace, Singapore. Confronting a country that is a world apart from the one he knew as a child, he is now made to question the meaning of home. As the crises and conflicts escalate, one thing is certain, come hell or high water, and possibly both, he must protect his family.
Dragonflies is the story of a family fighting for survival in a hostile world, looking for somewhere to call home, and something that might look like hope.
The year is 2021 and climate change is wreaking havoc across the globe. Donald Trump has been re-elected US President for a second term. Brexit is in full effect and causing chaos all over Europe. In the wake of escalating wars in the Middle East, famine in West Africa, and relentless terrorist attacks by radical extremists, the UK—and many nations around the world—has enforced a ban on all immigration.
With the coastline around him and life as he knows it crumbling to dust, Leslie Chen is forced to abandon his home in England and move his family back to his birthplace, Singapore. Confronting a country that is a world apart from the one he knew as a child, he is now made to question the meaning of home. As the crises and conflicts escalate, one thing is certain, come hell or high water, and possibly both, he must protect his family.
Dragonflies is the story of a family fighting for survival in a hostile world, looking for somewhere to call home, and something that might look like hope.
160 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2020
3 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Sonalini Street
1 book1 followerStephanie Street is an actress and writer, born and raised in Singapore. She read English at Cambridge and then trained on a scholarship at LAMDA. Her new adaptation of Wuthering Heights premiered at The Ambassadors as part of the NYT 2015 REP season. Her first play, Sisters, re-opened the Sheffield Crucible Studio in 2010 after the theatre’s refurbishment to critical acclaim. She has written numerous short pieces for theatre and radio as well as a number of short films for LAMDA films.
As an actor, credits include critically acclaimed work at the National Theatre (recently in Behind the Beautiful Forevers and, in 2011, in Nightwatchman, which earned her a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Solo Performance), for Out of Joint, the Bush, the Royal Court and Bristol Old Vic. Her TV work has included guest lead and regular parts in numerous series for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Sky Arts. She is a founder member of Act for Change campaigning for representative diversity in the industry, Literary Associate of HighTide Festival, Selector for the National Student Drama Festival and a trustee of Shakespeare North.
As an actor, credits include critically acclaimed work at the National Theatre (recently in Behind the Beautiful Forevers and, in 2011, in Nightwatchman, which earned her a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Solo Performance), for Out of Joint, the Bush, the Royal Court and Bristol Old Vic. Her TV work has included guest lead and regular parts in numerous series for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Sky Arts. She is a founder member of Act for Change campaigning for representative diversity in the industry, Literary Associate of HighTide Festival, Selector for the National Student Drama Festival and a trustee of Shakespeare North.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 11, 2020
I seldom read plays, but was attracted to Dragonflies by Stephanie Street because of its relevance to current affairs and the fact that it won Best Original Script at The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards 2018. I guess you could say that I was curious about the story.
Through the eyes of Leslie Chen, a Singaporean who has lived in the UK for thirty years, we are told a story that asks and examines the important questions of these uncertain times, given the issues of climate change, xenophobia and whatnot.
The acts and scenes invite readers (or viewers of the play) to empathise with the characters despite their different races and backgrounds, and we are led to rethink our definitions of home as we see Leslie and his daughter grapple with the salvaging of their homes—in both the literally and metaphorical sense.
Given the disquieting trajectory of current affairs, this is a play that manages to stand its ground, providing readers (and viewers) a socially-relevant story that highlights the need to emphasise unity over differences. It makes me want to watch the actual performance!
4/5
P.S. Thank you @gothookedonbooks for agreeing to give me this book as part of your giveaway! ☺️
Through the eyes of Leslie Chen, a Singaporean who has lived in the UK for thirty years, we are told a story that asks and examines the important questions of these uncertain times, given the issues of climate change, xenophobia and whatnot.
The acts and scenes invite readers (or viewers of the play) to empathise with the characters despite their different races and backgrounds, and we are led to rethink our definitions of home as we see Leslie and his daughter grapple with the salvaging of their homes—in both the literally and metaphorical sense.
Given the disquieting trajectory of current affairs, this is a play that manages to stand its ground, providing readers (and viewers) a socially-relevant story that highlights the need to emphasise unity over differences. It makes me want to watch the actual performance!
4/5
P.S. Thank you @gothookedonbooks for agreeing to give me this book as part of your giveaway! ☺️
Displaying 1 of 1 review