PunvEcTINe Peatas Scene 1 _/- inthe kitchen. Morin, its a comfortable, extremely neat Kchen-—smal but se tiere 24 ut of © — ourfited with severttemsto show thatthe onnerisquitean accomplished recoect 40v Hae KKM” cook: an egg beater, a blender, a convection-cum-microwave oven. The ny ArPAee, WESECMICN —gpptiances are not expensive but they are well used. BEN is getting ready to go = btn Un Tosco! Heicresed nono colege unlorm Heipacngen omelet tet a cane 10S sandwich forint enters He has jst come back hom shift work Hels Lea nat 8 Ee in unitoum-—navy pants anda whit shirt with epaulette tabs. en \\ Good morning, Pa aa > wit Mey are bela very parficalar ot ber How orsign TE rn tS Okay 1 ig MTR? Boer parC, AC MEAL wy Ld by toe case ‘ccc cyanea TO Bsa wc ocaehe Lavan a anne reise ee ieee Avsert lene: rat in wee tee lnere how Ben's the aor ext pentive Leavachertonad Mf ad ave re a : 8 eT" sew Srawcris gmatanansion’ You kena AD or wha? = From the coop. The inflight kitchen ordered (oo much, Swe Bett doesnt ert, SBERT e a TW eres eno Seige eee hs it oa Me MV.geN — Yums. T take some for my | okay? 40 att excited over, He wa TC tude grin a Wncven. (ert ‘sent You'd better hurry, Don't be late for classes. Seder reared into a Ya steak made) ‘You come home from night shift when Tam 201 SN cicnigg when I getliole, yoo go mo work WE never gett tal. 0 een oa Win mare open aleouat Yas ee Feharaceranton | or te (hy? Ct oncom iar’ tre) revertles sine en tell crestor Ben Romberries Fouhiryiee Bhool) fe ciao eee Fe re eae meieess aes epee: tena a call erties ~ What do these details about the sting the kitchen reveal about the onmer? What qualities do they point to? (Unes 1-4) “= What does Alberts minimal reply to Beis greeting reveal about Albert's character (Lines 9 and 11) ~ Ben seems eager to tak with hisather, but Albert seems reluctant to talk. Why do you think this? &SoerHinc 01D SOVETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED toot Rey 3 trieg betore he Could finally get 4p ahe point on Wir PH attempt ees We in the MANE Cxprestive OMe, Se HE dheuldwt be AiPcadt - o,Wkagw what @) sen About...um, Pa, how are your teeth? Ne uns wor really re é Pee voht cok Mena” Theyarcjorifine. Whats question ROM Me HOHE aan Con yesterday, when you were out, the dentist called, {oy draw # auf? ALBERT What...the government clini called me? @ en No. Uncle Reggie, your classmate. From his fancy clinic on Orchard Road. 30 ‘AugeRT Oh, Probably a class reunion or something. Gee No Sorncting sponta payea, user Oh. tad a fl Gantaaten, She and We Sa be ‘Whats this, Pa? Why are you paying 200 dollars a month to Unele Reggie's clinic? ‘nent Thad many filings done OWCaL He CMO ick of he NeE and Wak-Nodr- @5eN Nosisense, Pal You do your teeth at the government clinic's cheaper there. You told me so yourself! And you don’t have THAT rany flings. nielhgent sRanienal 4 pisent Sou doriexow that arate ns or eae vi pale sy en, ten te Aetlopng’ oe je Hei coger boy sy sic apa You're goingto be ate forschoo pes i hy amie se se and honest wil Hina Ae fel hooe LSE SAG sm Look, NM races one found out how much they meron oa g0 10 Uncle Reggie's clinic? { 5 gl ncn, Teta ney |______smt [Come ‘on, Pa! Count how many payments you've madé to hs clinict fy braces weren't cheaper at Uncle Reggie's ALBERT (gathering ollthe bills) Wait a minute... how did you... did you go through my drawer? Don't you ever, EVER go through my drawers 0 again! I'm puting a lock on. ~ Why does Ben sudieny become angry? What s causing this escalation inthe conflict with Ns father? (ne 37) ~ How does Uncle Rego, an offstage character ad tension in the play? How does Ben view him an his actions? How about Albert?| Abert ve. Hew pyre gd ag bevy saceicva out Sexe Nae 2 Be te Wi te a eiprenive tom sacrecial PARAL pode, eta ae sen Ts chaise cipro Sel Maan eee he'd let you pay in instalments, which the er clinic . way ‘woulda’, am Light Ss int am L Fight tsa] Albert recoqrtnes YO ad le Awsert All ight! ‘mama oe ora as I'm not rich. You don’t have to rub Tendon ide, us tees aloeating- ted eee that Bean rgeatcnet ten i oy ‘aveemeSiSOO Ty eh a he rusemt| You had The fmnery) Kids were already calling you all kinds of names for being half Indian he Wf and half Chinese... but with those teeth cyupaivine sen I didn’ vhat calle 1 oo ny ote en| Tid’ care what A oa Wiered we Acastonty et 804 ‘at night after the kids teased you! Sracsd, (muttering) Stupid, paper-thin HDB® walls...[ did NOT cry like nel ber paced sg 9 ano jervivle He kicks the wall. [sing 2k ‘asthe. eet Boe ALBERT Ben _Itwas too expensive. We can't afford it, Pa. Ma would have agreed with me ifshe were alive, Uvaracterisatia ten very pace B ses But you know it’s true. Ifshe were alive, she wou i sent aspire ean'twe tak Tee. stout ts ben Iter Wesel at her] without... find tas Me an sore pint for Ben. ‘mahjong: a Chinese game usualy played by four people, witha st of rectangular tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols HDB: Housing & Development Board: the statutory board overseeing public housing in Singapore . walloping:a beating = Why ae these lines important? Wha do they introduce forthe fst me? (Lines 68-77)SOMETHING OLD SOMETHING NEW SOMETHING BORROWED. Alsent You don’t know what you're talking about! ‘en's mobile phone rings. [Swap Wretian; wreceuptian et civan’] 0 BEN (whispering) Hello? Sushila I can’t talk now. Talking to my dad, 7B > Redeniardnese ivereaces. Tewian decreases. Come-crmcteS Um,..me too, ESM MEMES gatines Pee > hrodcwmordmers MeEAES Loy amcther Mott, eat Fetes ft) ‘What doLmean, me too? You nay what mean, ® (reluctant I...1um... okay, kay. Tlove you too, Talk to you later. 1 ie AT Wd we tlhe auidiewee Wold vir brtadlaes re otis Fame bn tyeuy Conve Rating? Dv0s tHe argument tae ert Suoning a attOuar Aetchian on BEN She's just friend from my junior college, Pa. 90 ALBERT First you secretly go through my things. Then you've gota girl sshd ava meer. Why these ese pre sc aniryational Pence eg i Me BEN Pa... [auitt sfeetings|—>" iy ievartional? ‘Ager I might aswell be aa in this house, Atleast he'll Know how to pay rent Lyuptet ta en ia ding hing fet io si i ‘oo maaan ‘AWgeRT What's wrong with me? Young man... if didn’t pay to have your | teeth straightened, you think you'd have a prety Indian gir Mrting| with you on the phone? Talk shot ungrateful, | onan: 6 deionh ich ans ne een ‘You're impossiblet 100 [MBER Ya. Youare a total joy to live with. DfeFeevnag; Frustrated Yer, We tok telling Ws dave emmy, | ee Wea von can ng Shen ito ewpele | (cating our oer hin) An sill nota word of tanta comin 7 “ALBERT walt. BEN does not come bact. _ a ete ‘Albart tiidky he deserves wore wat tf Banca at Mi ore takion we sitios wei onc, yon tna Ben ‘the grande, in agrietent ind ~ Doyou believe Bris words? Why or why not? Line 85) ~ Why is this moment onic? Think about what the charactersactualy want and how thisis undermined by ther words and ations that point to the very opposite.PonvscTINGPaATas [settng] Vast contrast with the prevousscene setting, ‘The same Kitchen, that ight Bens trying o make pratas onthe dining table, but all he manages to make is a: ity, oily mess, There is flour and oil ‘on BE face ALBERT comes back rom a double shit HERGUSIGaP What... are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be preparing dinner? bencting +9 tHe Men. kememlaer Aes very particular avout Me m8 state of Wye kitchen , 5eN Thisis dinner Pata. just need some practices 11 AtserT You don’t need practice : oh... goodnes... what possesed you to. ‘Next week is our first month anniversary and Sushila WOMESh rata SCOPE — [Feet] He w ecibedyabogt Ws on - hey fe fuged tine mii, nit CURA RM at ecating us fox Lan remember Maas to make Yi ued tel asf sae is deemed ad Ore ; ei tapi Bint overs BahiAlbert 4 8en Wwe 0 one-trackednind Himis Sean. 4 Ben is Well- benton ns Surprice fav is foeked ot Maw mescy he. 8 brates: Malay Indian farbread * What tone do you think Albert adapts here? Lines 110-111 and 174)SOMETHING OL SOMETHING NEW, SOMENING BORROWED. ALBERT ‘Take Sushila to a prata stall lah...so leceh®... SEN You didn’t -hink it was leceh when you made them with Ma. Atsent ‘There are so many brands of frozen prata in the supermarket. Just go 0 eta packet. She won't know the difference! 8N Of course tier isa difference! When you make it with your own hands... then its special. [Characteriin im: Gen us senimenial | ‘sent (holding up a badly madepiece) When you make it with your hands...it ream, a? Heute bem mrrby scar Ohvpih So [em org rat Why won'tyou even help? Whsiiouidyonsparsosmmtehinoneptorinyy snesacrisial, Ms! ‘Stupid braces and not even spend 10 minutes helping: memake Ma's ! Aiccouraging tone is Bra [irony in vevaviour] Surprising Pause. BEN, seeing that his father won't help him, continuesseyintroxmiake- He stops and glares 0 ‘Ot ALBERT, who softens. Then, hesitantly, ALBERT rolls up his sleeves and esac fhe ined te dh Tes nex Wstoo dy.. "RRen nteaetin ten, hg one geting rer, HESORENS Ni becouKe We Seed AUBERT ads WOREY. We eoct bea ytiog Not too much! Seer | beamse Neco oe ne meu. SABER You want to do ie? Ben backs down respectfully Now, you see, the trick is to use the fleshy part of the palm of your hand to... (he tries) to... BEN It's sticking all over, Pa... 0. ‘ALBERT looks carkly at BEN, Ofcourse, he knows it’s sticking. He tries to put a bit more flour,but it doesn't work. In fact, it makes the mess worse. (wincing) That looks worse than when Iwas doing it... Once again, ee witness Mlvert wig) ore upset becuase pee a level of incapabitity/inttticie St lke Ane CARE FeOAE, ARE Tea IK ‘8. leceh[Malayl troublesome Meir paver. ~ What does Ben want from Albert? What does Albert want from Ben? Why can't they see eye to eye? *~ Ben allows Albert to takeover Whet does this reveal about Ben's attitude towards his father? What does he want more than perfect pratas for Sushila?PeRFecTING PRATAS swat reearher scene, Mert i tragered aap jt yatta a bo, cn ges 1M font usenr [giiog up) You know thats dont remember how to do id sen | ANSRNEYNENUPHBR We're just a Tile rusty...is been along time since 5 Ma... blronic #ak Tt & ne cin encowmagig te faner, witead Df Me Mer und. © aa Liston aero Qe ga le Mit bk log abo OF tHE ell sauteed en regen aoe EN nace Liisi 60. en How? ‘AwsenT You can’t ask someone who doesn't know something...just to know it. Te doesn’t work that way. Bew's eitevut ence again forces Alber war BeMAt x perowl tattana, BEN Come on, Pa. You used to make so many pratas with Ma, I used to watch! 55 ALBERT MeRinyepARIeREEPYour ma made all the dough! just pretended to playalongt byciuwax of ewsian Pause oitionT (aly) NORA justi evening penfeetyWheHSKEWaNAlve, [Tastagostans nis over Her bread loaves and GREE BER. Minejusecolaas 4's profes ani in the oven like an old man’s kinourald | Y adoring ee a Psscas tere] sat dar weep ier eEnerERRNNEnENrend ten Ya, butwe cemented it over because I wanted to practise basketball... avsenr [eHiCnIGdWOERDECAUNEAM herplanwdiedaRershedid? — Gutaytition: seN Ohya. [remember you tried everything... fertilisers, new soil... AAAs vhen 6 everything oy AsERT But sil they died. So I cemented the garden, put up a hoop and Fewete vnen Ma bought you a ball to hide my failure: But that wasn't the end, You fared anay] started having hoof problems once she lefts. ~Bit nt erating cnn be sen Me? What did Ido? He fed ke he is aload parent, Maden. avd oc +0 bey Wding is arg « 10, kampong: (Malay vilage: ~ How do you think Albert feels when speaking thisline? (Line 146) ™~ How does the struggle with making prats reflect Alberts struggle tobe an ideal father? (Lines 151-152 and 155-156)SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW SOMETHING BORROWED. ‘Ts'd tHe most Moot [nas sald trey lam 40 fan, He generally replisa (A hort Fanitared Seneturnes only sag word. 70, AUBERT /- When she Was around, fOmWere:talLRORVOURAGe. I thought you Gristaposition] ‘were going to be a basketball star. NoWWeKe BealGVai Strong? And Sen under Mam you had piettirespetfeet wowwTOE MIRAE, Bit when she died, you (Rjusestopped growin. Wiehin two years, you were th Le wider ert.) RRR Scent you were I 5 orifh. Don’t you remember? I had to bring you to the hospital in the middle of the night... three times! BEN Itwasasthma, Wy “Alber? aLoeRr ‘And then your Wy) not “pat? milk teeth starting falling out... and those monster teeth started 180 Phe penta sprouting out from your mouth... co epg GOR cs teres saree ee er er ern Smt a FAY Any | Don't yon gti Albert's grant as itis But while she was alive, you never noticed SUCHE ‘nooat Bens 185 RED [Poaracteviatin J Lon-t0t confidence. ae poster syndrome BEN Nonsense, Pa ‘Beat Tension breaks, Sometimes we even get 15 minutes, 0 ALBERT loughs sadly and throws @ small lump of dough at Ben playfully. Pause, ‘AuserT I'm sorry, Ben, BEN It’s not your fault, Pa. ‘ew goes over and gives augeRra hug. 195 ‘AlseRT (as ifabout to reveo! something) Ben. Ben Yes, Pa? Beat: > Hanied treay cometain ‘but tn tat mement, decider red te break Hensioe in, 2 pee ie 1 lite a wrecking of “resolve ~ What des Albert evel about himsel? How does he fel about his abiltios apa father? ~ Whatisthe dramatic effect of bear? (ines 18 and 197) Ns nok Just a paw, tee wan amplticd, mone agniicant pauce ee 2 tint Changes drection, 1) abvort Fee an internyphan.Auger Uh, why don’t you go wash yourself up, and I'll cook us something that we can actually eat. Okay? 200 BEN Sounds good, Pa. Sorry for the mess. ‘ALBERT smiles and shakes his head. BEN exits. ALBERT sits down at the table, picks up a lump of prata dough, takes a deep whiff fit rests his cheek [Siete his eyes aen comes backiin to say something, but sees bi is father deep in thought. He exits without saying anything. Tweet ard the Mating bring! wack coméorfing meworiet of beter, easier na. TMs ba viterweet wowent. “Te meer ate aod out AMeY AND od lus perceived forconal #ailvres aes the flop of [ss even ene acute. [ Re kieeninadsticsarctontrmensttenenaonwhs | Pesan ee Se ee205 210 25 20 5 230 “SOMETHING OLD.SOMETHINCNEW, SOMETHING BORROWED. Scene 3 AwoeRT BN ALBERT [suspense] ‘ALgeRT ALBERT ALBERT ber i6 ind etatrgalle Enarecteritticy se The samektchen, morning the next day. BN isin cfeent clothes Subhes There 1s flour and oil on BEN's face, hands and clothes. ALBERT has just woken up. He isin pyiama pants and a singlet. tis his day off. What the heck... just cleaned up last night! Thad a dream, Pa, I dreamed of Ma making pratas and I think 1 remember now. No, no... this is my nightmare. I'm going to wake up to find that my clean and sparkling kitchen is exactly as I left itlast night! No, Pa... ealytotTTERHOTERETE +. optivni ec Make what? You have class this morning! (cheerfully) I don’t need to go for this one. I read it up already! Besides you have your off day today. We can perfect this darn rata... and-spencisome.qualititime-togethest Ba ie eee sient warms grein Bo dacthon, tniniicing regetren,oreees hetry %» avidltt? {grabs Bews mobile phone from the table) I'm going to call this girl and ‘el her she" aye to seule for commercial prata from a coffee shop! Tene worces i deat» a Asappointing one. (Grabbing the phone) Gee7! Now look what you've done ... my phone isall oily...and how am I going to get the bits of dough out from the buttons? Your phone? Look at my kitchen! Ben... you're going too gaga""” over this girl! You met... what? One month ago? And suddenly... Ics not about Sushila... Ya...right, No really Pa. sus... recenty..J don't remember Ma that well more. wndertand WSMHe mobi vakiaal soy more> ini Ni avo C2 {Look en i's been 10 years You were eight 1s normal to forget some things. Ome agosn, Niner’ Us to fecutéd on the wets, he anit SOE. 11. gaga: completely infatuated ~ When we use ellipses (..) weare indicating that the character tal off in his or her speech int sllence. Why are there so many examples ofthis atthe end of this scene?PrRrECTING PRATAS BEN (agitatedly) Not Ma! Last night when I dreamed of her m: Iwas watching her back. And when she turned to speak to me, I woke" "vb 25 uup! I never got to see her face. Tddon’t remember her face! When 1 “#08. .g0 to look at the albums, I see this woman smiling.... but she doesn't ook so familiar any more, What's wrong with me, Pa? ausent — It’sall right, Ben. You miss your mother. I gett... ‘That's just itl SOWAOEgEETt. You're the only one I can talk to about 240 her. BHEYOURERUSEHOTA Every time I try to talk about her or remember something about her, you get upset... or angry... or just shut up and pretend I didn’t say anyd Spore er apoyo cme "You've been missing her since you were eight. us rom the way you make your the way you fold the clothes... the way you put erunchy sugar in those darn peanut butter sandwiches Whe Aid Ue tri vaste th pete PE PEM lige He canct get over tine as Moye ets Hy ie aye Eicher to be persectiy cuamed. Sort drain trigger memories. fird Toeearice it 4 Som hecan do perfectly.SOMETHING OLD SOMETHINGNEW, SOMETHING ZORROWED AiseRT Not only those things. But the way you are smart with things...the 250 way you understand things...and do everything perfectly ——— Bevis perfection iatromtne mam, A powse 4y aa Bins proleunc is fran All ort, summnarice. ; e-lnosterCyndrome gett, Ben. Your mother was folesmodeLIMAtEHGP. Lam not 25 BEN It’s not like a competition, Pa ALBERT (holds up his hand) 1 am not jealous, Ben. I understand, But itis not healthy. ‘Trying to remember all the things she was won't bring her Dackt Thit & Atbert's HM rer} lan. ‘Recam never brig Wc Uae back , 82N I don't only try to be like her, Pa. Lalso try to be like you. Most 260 Parents would be happy that their kid wants to be like them! ‘AUBERT Oh really? What part of me are you trying to be like? 8eN Uh... ots of things! AUBERT Like? BEN Like... 265 ‘Nis stumped. Long silence, ALBERTGKESTE STAIN Hetedefeatedshiswors? ‘fears confirmed ALBERT So you sce, Ben, you want to learn how to make prata from me... but Thave nothing to teach, Petontecoanything.wellaeall dvejusrbeen. Cowttany now “ving to manage since your mother died Altam’t teach you how to 270 NI ShOWD MT Ger romantic with a gel dmmme give you advice when your heart gets sae vi ince broken. ium all those things your ma was, and I'am still supposed t SOE Dente aie ee se eee 2 Sorta ll AN ea ve went hen es Was sp nue sa co Ben Pas Hrdedeaytine eid vabpon, $e dtl Ws 5 ‘AUBERT Please...go get cleaned up and go to school. faired. BEN Pa... AuseRT (fmly) Ben. You'll be late. I'll clean up. frcer tag bat Ries fora ea say? loot at Albert gavavion al : Bo ates ares becaute we doesnt Enow herizo Make peta. Prd Albert cant help him, so Ben mates an even bigger met, a Er re joo ante feature tr. Abert 40 add te hic ist. = How sbersauietonadshsmethe difeenomAberEaiinwoy id240 25 290 295 300 Scene 4 ALaeRT ALBERT ALBERT EN ALBERT en ALOERT ALpeRT ALBERT ALoERT PPRFECTING PRATAS The same kitchen, that same night. The table's totally cleaned up. tis set for dinner. There are three settings. ALBERT/s placing some fried pratas and ‘acommunal bowl of curry on the table. BEN enters. He has just come home from school. Justin time. Three settings. Who's coming? ae cowie, Wo could tia Beat.) ace jdeynton. Pa...youdian teal Sushila did you? Ridiculous. {don’t have her number. Then? Gaiety Ooo : STeaaireua Chinese || haa det Yowrecrepngme our Ee i You're always saying 'm always You're showing me that you're nuts, Pa. or ee at si a ma refers Kim as None of the above fumggat en outs you cease ot uly prota tog hat ie petted Yous mai Sra ics ne te ‘ehua plow, You .. didn’t buy it Horm une cote od Son iret a ese N They sit down and ceremoniously contemplate the prata, 7 [10!€ Lidv'-heared- (ourof orce of habit) Pa, ak... Ma, jak Ss They take their first bite fhe ate ae gue . alot og TAlusion Buddlists WEF. an dence. Pa. cea Yes, Ben. + frreverenpot Avis rare moment. ‘You are wrong. ‘What? This is exactly what your mother used to... Pa ak... Ma lak [Teochew] Dad, eat... Mu, eat; the Teochew way of asking one's father anc! mother toeatbefore oneselfSOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED, 105 SEN Not about this. About what you said this morning. You said Ileamed ‘everything from Ma and you had nothing to teach me. Sr ae Ga steer Pause ALBERT continues eo Non in Serene tt en ueeens tt wth {you've taught me nothing, then how come I know I wil hea good 0, dad one day when I have kids? How come I know that I'll be these in 310 Frome: the hospital when my kid thinks he’s dying... and I'll know how to (onivowtatoval] old his hand ull morning? Leh for eee very angry this morning, Pa, And I didn't know why. But over the course of the day I figured ie ‘out. I was angry because I think you think I am not very smart... ALBERT I never said that! Never once did I... as Ben You think that just because [miss Ma, I never notice the things you do—or how you do all those things for me Uke tater ee can. Me te a ay How else do you go out and buy me ern aise those awful clothes that fit me perfect? aatlerp - all those awful clothes that fit me perfect ‘Alpert They are not awful...they are very...hip! 30 sn For your generation! And Pa... [know you go through my schoolwork every night when you come back and I am asleep. Otherwise how do you know I need Chinese and maths tuition? ‘AtseRT Ru arrange everything in your lay perfectly everytime. SEN NoupenfectlvenoUgD' Look, Pa...everything doesn’t have to be . a ee ees hr gue tse ‘we cont a Ne Calva). roa tee a Tey dn * Na. But, Pa... they're perfect) De a pervat BUF Youn . ‘ALBERT stops eating. He is blinking back tears. BN goes up behind his father {hd hugs him from behind. Lights fade to black | Pratas so important 1 Ben? Explain your answer, ee ee