Boom, is a play written by local playwright Jean Tay, and is now an ‘O’ and ‘N’ Level Literature text. Set in land-scarce Singapore during a time of property boom as seen by the surge in en-bloc sales, which coincides with the implementation of the policy of exhuming graves that are more than 15 years old, the play demonstrates a recurring trope of the preoccupation with majority needs.
With this trend forming the backdrop of the play, Boom reveals the struggle of the individual against the pressure to conform to the needs of the majority. Boom tells the story of an elderly woman and her property agent son, Boon in Singapore, who are struggling over the potential en bloc sale of their home. Boon’s mother wants to remain at her old apartment and wait for her husband’s return despite pressures from her neighbours to participate at the en-bloc sale. Boon on the other hand, wants to be successful in a socially-desirable way but in his pursuits, forgets what he wants in life. Their destinies become interwoven with that of an idealistic civil servant, Jeremiah, who is facing the greatest challenge of his career – persuading a reluctant corpse to yield its memories. The corpse in the grave awaits his impending exhumation because the country and the living need the land. It is obvious that these characters have individual needs that differ from the majority but for them, there is only one fate and one ending. Boom tells about the relocation of both dead and living and how personal stories get left behind in the inexorable march of progress.
