SINGAPORE: Singapore stages play about controversial porn star Annabel Chong who made waves by setting a record in the porn industry

Record ID: 1538639

  • Title: SINGAPORE: Singapore stages play about controversial porn star Annabel Chong who made waves by setting a record in the porn industry
  • Date: 13th April 2007
  • Summary: SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE (RECENT - APRIL 4, 2007) (REUTERS) SCENE SHOWING CHONG AS A PORN STAR
  • Embargoed: 29th April 2007 18:14
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Singapore
  • Country: Singapore
  • Topics: Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVABWK1U87D8A5YS4MDHUGV6HUE0
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: A controversial play about famous porn star Annabel Chong opens in Singapore. From world famous porn star to web consultant. This is the story of Annabel Chong.
    Singapore's Annabel Chong became world famous for setting a record in the porn industry. Chong engaged in 251 sexual acts with 70 men over a ten hour period in 1995, setting a world record which was packaged into a film called 'The World's Greatest Gang Bang'. An American film student also produced a documentary about her called "Sex: The Annabel Chong Story".
    Twelve years later, Chong is still fascinating artists with her life story. This time, it's in her home country of Singapore where a local production company is staging a play about her life story.
    The play, entitled "251 The Intimate Life Story of Annabel Chong" aims to tell the personal story of Annabel and give a human face to a woman whose actions were considered taboo in conservative Singapore. The creators say they want the audience to see her as a person, not a porn star.
    Ng Yu Seng wrote the play and he says her story fascinated him since he was a teenager.
    "I think I am one of a generation that doesn't see these taboo subjects as taboo which actually realizes that its actually really productive to talk about a supposedly taboo subjects to broaden people's minds so I was really eager to do it from the start," said Ng.
    Chong now lives in the United States and works as an IT consultant and has reverted to her original name of Grace Quek. Quek recently said Annabel Chong was a different phase and persona in her life which she is over and done with.
    But Chong's actions remain etched in the minds of most Singaporeans.
    The director of the play, Loretta Chen says Chong, possibly the island's most famous export, could be looked at as a national hero .
    "So I think she became almost like a mythic figure in Singapore. So then when I started researching I got intrigued with the idea of her being a national hero because round about the time I was researching, there was a newspaper article that came out on what made a national hero and they defined the characteristic of a national hero as someone who dared to break boundaries, that dared to go where no man or woman has dared to go and someone who dared to break new frontiers. And in that token, I considered, can't someone like Annabel Chong be considered a national hero? And then that really got me interested because the only reason she is not considered a hero is because what she did was a sexual act and we don't consider that to be heroic in any way," said Chen.
    Her seemingly average upbringing fascinated Chen who wanted to understand how a straight-A student who attended top schools and was brought up conservatively by a middle class Chinese Christian family, could end up a porn star.
    Chen says Singapore authorities gave them certain guidelines to follow to ensure the integrity of the play -- and despite some censorship, the story does not lose its essence and could prove to be a landmark in the nanny state's theatre industry, she added.
    The group sex scenes have been artistically crafted and tastefully presented. The director had to follow guidelines provided by Singapore's Media Development Authority to stage the play in the mainstream theatre The Esplanade -- a swanky complex which is a symbol of the island's growing support for the arts.
    Though it has taken Singapore significant time to endorse a play which tells the story of a person once considered a black sheep, Cynthia Lee Macquarrie, who plays Chong says she feels no responsibility in playing such a controversial character.
    "No, I chose not to take the responsibility of weather Singaporeans are going to like Annabel or grace -- I try not to get into the political side of it. I mean honestly being in Singapore, we are kind of confused with what we want to do and I am fine with that."
    Audiences said the play dared to voice the population's concerns and break boundaries in terms of sexuality in Singapore's closed political atmosphere.
    "There has been a general build up towards something like this over the past few years, a build up towards I think greater openness, as well as a willingness to come to grips with ideas that we didn't manage to tackle before," said one audience member, Lennard.
    "What is it that really strikes me is how Annabel Chong as a character is motivated by these social contexts and the situation, so that was very powerful I thought," said Jonathan, who also watched the play.
    Even though its been a decade since Annabel Chong's sensational story surfaced in a tabloid and shocked the nation, her story still seems to fascinate Singaporeans -- who might just look at her as a rebel with a cause.
    As Singapore relaxes its censorship rules and loosens its grip over micro-managing what its population watches, "251" could mark the beginning of a new type of theatre in Singapore -- one that pushes the envelope in terms of exploring and discussing previously untouched themes in a public domain.
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