SINGAPORE — It was a lofty experiment that went awry.

The island called Pulau Senang is now a military area for live-fire exercises but, back in 1960, it was a penal settlement where prisoners were taken to rehabilitate in a most unusual way. Under the watchful, optimistic eyes of a certain Superintendent Daniel Sutton, the detainees were allowed to work and roam freely, and lived a relatively normal life. Three years later, however, a riot broke out and three people, including Sutton, were killed by the detainees.

That’s the story behind Drama Box’s latest production, Senang. It revisits this tragic incident while also drawing on two classic literary texts: John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Shi Nai’an’s The Water Margin.

Directed by Kok Heng Leun, it’s written by playwright Jean Tay (Everything About The Brain), who came across the small island’s history while doing research for another play about Sisters Island. Kok said: “When she told me the premise, I thought it was very interesting — this experiment that idealistically addressed what a penal system should be and how it went haywire.”

“There were no cells, no police wardens with guns. They moved around and interacted very freely. I wouldn’t say it’s a holiday chalet, but they’re living almost like civilians — but it’s also almost like (Joseph Conrad’s) Heart Of Darkness, where you need that work to keep your sanity and make sure you don’t go crazy in your head,” he added.

It’s also Kok’s first time working with an all-male ensemble, which features Oliver Chong, Chad O’Brien, Ong Kian Sin, Tay Kong Hui, Peter Sau, Rei Poh and Neo Hai Bin. For the play’s tough Lord Of The Flies-meets-Das Experiment scenario, they roped in choreographer Lim Chin Huat to physically prepare the actors.

“They did a lot of physical training to prepare themselves to look like hard labourers,” said Kok, adding that they’ll be presenting the incident in a stylised way. “There were scores of people involved in the riot and you cannot realistically portray it like on TV or in the movies. It’ll be a minimal setting to evoke an image of people trying to create (something on) an island and then destroying it.” MAYO MARTIN

Senang runs from May 15 to 25 at SOTA Studio Theatre. 8pm with 2.30pm weekend matinees. Tickets at S$45 from SISTIC. In Mandarin, English, Hokkien and Cantonese with English and Chinese surtitles.