IMDA and MHA pull Wild Rice's Homepar for 'glamorising drug abuse'

Just a day before its staging, a production by theatre company Wild Rice has been pulled by the authorities for "glamorising drug abuse", with the company saying the play does not condone or glorify substance use.

- Anjali Raguraman

The dramatised reading of Homepar by playwright Mitchell Fang has been disallowed in its current form, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a joint statement on June 20.

A revised script submitted on June 5 had substantially changed from the version submitted on April 21, they noted.

The earlier script met classification requirements and could be staged under an R18 rating.

However, the revised script was found to have breached the Arts Entertainment Classification Code (AECC).

"The new material depicts and glamorises drug abuse and portrays an undercover Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officer shielding abusers from detection," said the joint statement.

"It undermines Singapore's anti-drug policy, our drug rehabilitation regime and public confidence in the CNB. Performances that undermine Singapore's national interest are not permitted under the AECC."