May 31, 2016

‘Cat’s Entertainment: Feline Performance in the Lion City’, published in 2007 in TDR (The Drama Review), is authored by Dr Paul Rae, former faculty member in the Department of English Language and Literature. Interestingly, Dr Rae is allergic to cats.

The article talks about Singha, the Courtesy Lion, and the Merlion, a touristic icon, which are among several leonine symbols deployed by the Singaporean state in its persistent effort to manage national identity and police subjectivity. Dr Rae also mentions how artists have responded with playful and effective inscriptions of a “feline imaginary” that expands and contests the narrow terms of the official symbology.

To read the full article, click here.