In the contemporary world, Europeans and Americans continually search for ways to come to terms with a shameful history of colonialism and domination. Rather than critically examine this embarrassing past, however, most Westerners are content to compartmentalize and bury the sordid topic altogether. In the Washington premiere of Privates on Parade, The Studio Theatre affords audiences yet another opportunity to handle colonialism with kid gloves.
Set on the Malay Peninsula in 1948, Privates is the coming-of-age story of Pvt. Steven Flowers, a young British soldier who has been detailed to a military song-and-dance troupe in the Southeast Asian colony. The relatively light-hearted character of the troupe’s mission takes a somber turn, however, when the mounting Communist insurrection, spearheaded by ethnic Chinese Malayans, precipitates a 12-year state of emergency.
Although director Joy Zinoman has (quite rightly) interpreted playwright Peter Nichols’ autobiographical work as a satire of the colonial experience, this production sometimes fails to convey the requisite sense of irony to the audience. Flowers is supposed to embody the view that local peoples will abandon their “backwards” ways once they have been “properly” educated by Westerners. Similarly, Maj. Giles Flack declares that Christianity is destined to stamp out the atheism of “Chinamen,” and Sgt. Kevin Cartwright represents the myth of the virile white man who sleeps with dozens of “exotic” women simply because he can.
In reality, however, this production fails to even implicitly critique these important components of colonialist thought, a legacy that still informs Western perspectives. Almost all the characters are presented as too comical and endearing to be criticized. Their one-dimensional rendering presents a discontinuity between the campy caricatures that the audience perceives and the historically dangerous views that the text tries to elucidate.
Furthermore, the non-European perspective is almost entirely absent. Although several plot lines hinge on Sylvia Morgan, the half-Indian and only female member of the troupe, her idealizations of London and British society do nothing to deconstruct the colonialist narrative. Even after physical and sexual abuse at the hands of Sgt. Maj. Drummond and heartbreak caused by Private Flowers, Sylvia accepts her exploitation with little complaint and continues to sing the praises of the Union Jack. A more realistic interpretation of Sylvia as an ambivalent and even resistant character is wanting.
Throughout the performance, two Asian men are also constantly onstage, performing servile tasks while secretly plotting an ambush against the soldiers. These men?whose roles are silent?are meant to symbolize the colonial context of the play as well as the covert operations of the Malayan Peoples Anti-British Army. In actuality, their voiceless presence supports the imperialistic notion of non-Western peoples as inarticulate, zealous rebels who underhandedly plot the demise of innocent, na?ve Europeans.
On the other hand, choral lyrics such as, “Many a savage lives and dies / in ignorance of Jesus’ sacrifice,” are delivered with just the right mixture of irony and camp, restoring some of the play’s legitimacy as a satirical commentary. Likewise, the male quartet number “Black Velvet” (sung to the haunting tune of “Greensleeves”) is expertly performed and craftily unsettles the audience by couching blatantly racist lyrics in a jovial musical number. After three long hours of looking at colonialism through rose-tinted lenses, however, such effective moments of social satire are painfully scarce.
Privates on Parade plays through Oct. 20 at The Studio Theatre, 1333 P St., N.W.
