The Arabian Nights
Event: ‘The Arabian Nights’ by I Theatre
Venue: The Singapore Airlines Theatre, LASALLE College of the Arts
Run: 1-18 September 2012
Written & Directed by: Brian Seward
Music by: Bang Wenfu
Cast: Julie Wee, Edward Choy, Daphne Ong, Faizal Abdullah, Hang Qian Chou, Dwayne Lau, Candice de Rozario
It is always nice to revisit stories that conjure up a sense of magic and adventure, and take us away from the daily hustle and bustle of life. And I Theatre’s (re-)staging of Arabian Nights does that by telling the classic tales from 1001 nights. I had wondered how the cast would be combining the storytelling with the role-playing of the many stories to be told, and I would say the transitions between the storytelling and the stories were done rather smoothly, allowing the audience to easily follow the many tales, but yet still kept in the context of King Shahriyar and Queen Shahrazad’s own unfolding story.
Using an animated cast and simple props and puppets, the audience were brought through (if I counted correctly) 8 selected stories – The Fisherman and the Jinni, The Merchant of Sendeh, The Tale of the Hunchback, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Voyages of Sinbad, The Three Princes, Tale of the Mouse and the Mongoose and Aladdin. The script was easily understandable and with the lively acting, the cast engaged the audience, especially the kids, who were constantly tickled by the stories and characters. The cast did well as they easily switched between the characters, and in between, performed as musicians and puppeteers as well.
And Eucien’s sets were once again beautiful in its design and functionality. Colourful, it had its Arabian style with the risen King’s loft and hidden passage and cave under it, that doubled as hills and paths as well, even not forgetting the details of lining the floor with a pseudo-carpet pattern.
I believe the beauty of this production was the way the stories were told, bringing out the essence and moral of each story with good old-fashioned storytelling that is simple to understand for all ages.
The Arabian Nights runs till 18 September, with tickets at $32 and $28 (weekday matinee). Grab your tickets to this family-friendly production from http://www.sistic.com.sg now.
The Hossan Leong Show (Flying Solo!)
Event: The Hossan Leong Show – Flying Solo!
Venue: Drama Centre Theatre
Run: 30th Aug – 16th Sept 2012
On My Own
It’s technically the fourth installment of “The Hossan Leong Show”, although this current production makes no overt mention of the number “4” in any of its publicity materials, choosing to go with the title “Flying Solo” instead.
And what an apt title it is, considering budget airline Scoot has come on board as the show’s major sponsor this year, plus the fact that Hossan has decided to go back to basics, back to the roots of stand-up comedy if you will, by attempting to carry a show all by himself.
That means no more wacky antics from the likes of the loveable Chua Enlai and Judee Tan, who had featured so prominently in past shows.
I suppose the big question in all of this is: Can Hossan Leong pull off a 90-minute show all on his own?
The show started with a Broadway-like opening number, with the gorgeous white Boston baby grand forming the centrepiece of the stage, and it is immediately apparent that the idea of flying and travelling will be a major theme for the rest of the show, as Hossan and his chorus of four lovely ladies sang and danced their way through a somewhat amusing but unaffecting number describing the perils of flying.
And if the audience was not sufficiently warmed up by this opening sequence, Hossan’s subsequent monologue, which lasted a good 25 minutes or so, surely did the job of raising the temperature in the room.
The extended monologue touched on predictable but still ultimately entertaining topics of the antics of Singaporean travellers abroad and such, with Hossan playing a big part in the effectiveness of the material with his uncanny caricature ability.
Also, it has to be specially pointed out that Hossan does a totally wicked Thai accent, amongst other things.
After exhausting all possible jokes about Singaporeans and travel in the monologue, Hossan then proceeded on to the piano to render a thoroughly entertaining medley of a girl named “Shirley”, drawing from as diverse songs as “Scarborough Fair”, “La Isla Bonita”, “Unchained Melody”, “The Girl from Ipanema”, “Take On Me” (amazing vocal work there, by the way), “The Lonely Goatherd”, and so on…and ending with – what else? – “Home”.
It was not entirely apparent why he had suddenly burst into song about a girl specifically named “Shirley”, but one might surmise that only this name would have worked so well in the line “This is home, Shirley, where I know I must be.”
Hossan’s pianistic abilities have always been truly outstanding, and one wonders why he had not tried to milk his musical talents to fuller effect in all the previous episodes of the show.
And even in this show, I wished he would have showcased even more of his piano chops, since the Boston grand was already on stage anyway, but alas, he only did a total of two full numbers at the piano – one being the “Shirley” medley, the other being a song about taxi drivers a little further on in the show.
The Monica Chng as CEO of 48 d’Spa segment was mildly entertaining, although one couldn’t help but feel reminded of a Malaysian version of Barbarella.
One of the highlights of the entire show came just after the Monica Chng segment, when Hossan showcased some astoundingly impressive pole-dancing moves, which no doubt took weeks upon weeks of intensive training to master.
You’d have to witness it for yourself to believe it.
The alien segment was a curious one, although it did help to add a bit of variety to the proceedings.
I thought the material featured some clever ideas, poking fun at celestial-sounding brands like StarHub and Universal Studios, and although attempts were clearly made to gingerly skirt round the issues of xenophobia and integration, they were never really tackled full on.
And of course, toward the end of the show, there were the inevitable digs at all and sundry, such as superhero movies, the Miss Singapore Universe pageant, the merging and reconfiguration of government ministries, Diner en Blanc, NDP parades, and the CHC saga as well.
Hardly anything of current relevance was spared.
As with most local comedy shows, there will be the odd mixture of fresh original jokes and jokes which have probably made their numerous rounds around the Twittersphere by now.
“Flying Solo” was certainly an entertaining evening, thanks in no small part to the singular comedic talents of Hossan Leong, which we’ve grown so familiar with by now.
It’s not ground-breaking material or cutting-edge humour by any stretch of the imagination, but then again, that’s not why people come to watch “The Hossan Leong Show”.
People come to see the good ol’ “Singapore Boy” delight and entertain audiences night in night out with his own peculiar brand of zest and zaniness, in the way that only Hossan Leong can.
And if you evaluate the show from this respect, then yes, you could probably say that Hossan Leong has delivered the goods once again.
But this time albeit on his own.
Afar 《远角》
Event: 《远角》Afar by Drama Box 戏剧盒
Venue: Esplanade Theatre Studio
Run: 23-25 Aug 2012
Written by: Lee Shyh Jih 李世炬
Directed by: Jalyn Han 韩雪卿
Cast: Doreen Toh 卓桂枝, Goh Seok Ai 吴惜爱, Karen Tan 陈慧娟, Tan Shou Chen 陈寿臣, Tan Wan Sze 陈宛诗.
In a land of balloons (which to me, bore a slight resemblance to human figures, or even cerebral matter), we are thrown into a space where unexpected ‘pop’s and smashes provided an air of edginess to a conversely mystical atmosphere. The balloons represented memories, and even dreams that could burst any time, like what the balloons did, or as fragmented as it is, floating.
The pliable balloon structure ‘sculptured’ by Lim Weiling (林玮翎) was innovative in the use of ice blocks and water balloons as weights, and yet organic in its role, providing that element of transience and unpredictability (if not fear, for those afraid of balloons). The melting ice lent itself to set the balloons afloat at intervals, and served as props for smashing at opportune times as required by the script. As the water dripped, a sense of danger was also given as we worried if the actors would slip and fall, as did Wan Sze did, but the show went on as if it were part of the show.
And I must say, theatre these days are becoming more and more 4D in its experience, as the spatial design of sound vibrations and also the use of props and seating to shake up and surround the audience caused us to have some interaction, at least in the physical experience of the show. This was thanks to Darren Ng (黄泽晖). I’ve had similar experiences in some other productions like the recent Lord of the Flies.
In costumes, the actors started out in a contrast of pink and green waterproof dressings, providing some reference to the dream-like state of the show. The use of the contrasting pink dress on Karen clearly defined her as the lead in the show. However, the actors were stripped white later, maybe in reference to the slow awakening to memories of reality, and maybe also the blending of the characters? For even though there were 5 people and seemingly 5 individual stories, it was possible to weave them as one, even as I found myself linking all the characters up at the end as a collective whole. Coincidentally, the director mentioned that that was somewhat what she had in mind, that the 5 characters can exist in any one individual, and how we respond to them would depend on how we could relate to them. It was intriguing that the playwright had intended the characters to be neither female nor male, and flexible enough for the roles to be swopped about.
What I felt through the show was that the cast was in a kind of limbo state of mind as they recounted their memories. They were like in a world of their own, but also challenged with an occasional interference that came from the ‘outside’, like the lighting calls and the sound of what resembled the sound of a heart monitor in the background. So the audience was like peeking in, watching from afar. As the play progressed, the memories became darker, and the blackout emphasized the dark and fearful memories that the characters had. I’m not sure what the constant reference to Li Bai’s 《静夜思》was about (memories?), or the expectancy of rain when the sun is blocked a constantly tracked number of times (hope?) though. But I began to think if they or one of them were in a coma, creating that world? And with Karen’s character’s farewell speech and disappearance, I wondered if her leaving meant she was dead or alive. I believe this ‘dead or alive’ string of thought was kept constantly throughout the show, even till the end as we continue guessing, as the remaining characters seem to continue on another cycle of tentativeness.
The surtitles were delivered quite badly though with inconsistent projections and being blocked by balloons for the 1st half of the show.
A play opened to many interpretations, I think Afar is an interesting piece for exploration and also for the sensory experience. However, the lack of a main message might prove challenging for comprehension.
Army Daze
Event: Army Daze
Venue: Drama Centre Theatre
Run: 21st – 26th Aug 2012
Directed by: Beatrice Chia-Richmond
Songs by: Don Richmond
In the past 25 years, Army Daze has been staged, re-staged and even made to a movie. However, this was my first experience of Army Daze, and I wondered why I never managed to catch any of the earlier versions. Now 25 years on, I believe Army Daze is still relevant to let us catch a glimpse of army life (for gals like me), and for those who have gone through NS, to reminisce about it.
The story was told in the perspective of Malcolm (Dwayne Tan) with narratives between scenes and an occasional musical number. Naturally, the show was updated with references of current times, of technological and social ‘progress’. Going in with little clue of what to expect, it was hugely entertaining, and had me laughing out loud at various points with the way different characters from different walks of life came together, regardless of race, language or religion. I don’t know about others, but amongst the main cast of recruits, my favourite was Joshua Lim’s ‘Ah Beng’. Don’t know lah, maybe there was something very Singaporean or down-to-earth about this Ah Beng. I feel Joshua has potential to develop further in his musical theatre career, with already quite a few in his resume. Shane Mardjuki’s ‘Kenny’ was also rather effective in causing much laughter with his beauty and fashion concerns. The show also did not forget to highlight the disparity between new foreign migrants who do not need to serve NS, unlike the locals, as the recruits expressed their army woes.
Besides the main cast, the show was strongly supported with the likes of Siti Khalijah and Chua Enlai. Chua Enlai tickled with his ‘powderful’ English and irrelevant quotes, while Siti was multi-cast as Johari’s mother, Krishna’s maid and of course, Sgt Khatib who would break out in song during briefings. The maid portion was however, a bit out of place though, but I guess it was to make a dig about the maid carrying NS man’s full pack incident. On another point, I’m not sure what’s the role of ‘The Man’ played by Darius Tan (who gave out the “grandfather” book), in the guise of a Tony Tan lookalike.
And in a very functional flushed background set, bunks, rooms/homes, jungles and spaces were easily created with a simple switching of props. The many doors aided the transition and choreography, and allowed for different access points, while the tapered look kept our focus.
All in all, I found the production quite enjoyable, bringing home the daze of army life in a most light-hearted manner.
At the end of it all, we watch the boys mature as they weather through this passage of their lives in comradeship with others. I believe not just a few will smile back at those times as each NS man sees a bit of themselves in each batch that follows.
Masterpiece in Motion
Event: “Masterpiece in Motion” presented by Singapore Dance Theatre
Venue: Esplanade Theatre
Run: 24th & 25th Aug 2012
Works Of Artistic Pleasure
The Singapore Dance Theatre had kindly invited us to attend their third annual showcase of “Masterpiece in Motion”, which presents works of international standard and of the finest choreography to audiences here in Singapore.
This being one of the very rare occasions I watch a dance performance, I entered the Esplanade Theatre with as open a mind as I could, hoping to draw as much as possible from this fascinating artform which is always so inextricably linked with the world of music.
And it was through this link with music that I managed to find a familiar footing, and what better way to kick things off with George Balanchine’s “Divertimento No. 15”, which was the first of the evening’s three dance pieces.
This ballet is based on the five-movement Mozart composition, which the legendary Balanchine incidentally deemed as the finest divertimento ever written.
The light and playful music of Mozart, especially his divertimentos, lends itself perfectly to a neoclassical ballet such as this, and it was a delight to see the five female soloists and three leading male dancers, together with an ensemble of eight women, prance delicately around on stage with a combination of solos and duets as well.
I thought the three leading male dancers did especially well, and I was constantly transfixed by their performance.
The second piece “Chant” was a world premiere, and was choreographed by Val Caniparoli, who had flown in a month ago to work extensively with the SDT dancers to create this piece.
“Chant”, set to the music of Lou Harrison’s “Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with Javanese Gamelan”, was an interesting study in shadings.
The first movement was a dark and even hypnotic affair with the loud, steady thumping of the gamelan giving rise to deeply sensual movements, while in the second movement the gamelan sounds disappear, leaving the music to take on a flavour suggestive of a European folk-dance, with the dancers performing grander, sweeping movements.
The third and final movement sees a return of the gamelan, which immediately brought a slower, darker tone back to the dance, and midway through the movement the music suddenly soars into a distinctly Oriental phase (use of pentatonic scale) where the strings almost mimic the sounds of the erhu.
The piece ends off with the gamelan making a final appearance and the choreography making nods to Javanese dance sensibilities with angular movements and all.
Choreographer Caniparoli was on hand at the end of the piece to soak in the well-deserved applause and appreciation.
The final piece of the evening was Edwaard Liang’s “Age of Innocence”, choreographed to the music of Philip Glass and Thomas Newman.
“Age of Innocence” was inspired by the Jane Austen novels and the women of her era, and explores the complications of male-female relationships.
The five-movement piece was characterised by passion and vitality, and the sight of the large red velvety drawing room curtains as a backdrop from the start indicated that this was to be no frivolous affair.
The first movement was full of vitality, while things took an even more sensual and carnal feel in the second movement.
The third movement was particularly riveting with the pulsating music giving a sense of disequilibrium with its constantly changing time signatures, and with the scintillating choreography following suit.
The fourth movement was probably the highlight of the piece, showcasing a long, protracted mating dance between passionate lovers, played to the red-blooded soundtrack of a symphony of cellos, and finally, in the last movement the full ensemble comes back on stage in full Baroquian splendour, not before rounding things off ever so nicely with the introduction of the sombre piano tones at the end, giving the entire dance a soft, wistful, and contemplative touch to end things off.
Liang, similarly, was on hand at the end of the piece to receive the appluase as well.
The three pieces on offer last evening were varied in their styles and genre, but regardless, one can see the sheer power and magnetism of dance when the genius of choreography, together with competent execution, is matched seemlessly with beautiful music.
Truly masterpieces in motion, in every sense of the phrase.
Many thanks to the Singapore Dance Theatre for organising such a wonderful showcase.
Army Daze
Event: Army Daze
Venue: Drama Centre Theatre
Run: 21st – 26th Aug 2012
Dazed And Amused
Few can say they are unfamiliar with the 1996 hit movie “Army Daze”, which not only still holds the record for the highest cinema takings for a local English-language film in Singapore, but has been given the ritualistic airing on national television every now and then.
Indeed, “Army Daze” the movie has entered the national consciousness and found itself a warm and indelible place in the hearts of Singaporeans like few other local films have.
The Ong Keng Sen-directed film was in actual fact based on the 1987 play by Michael Chiang, which in turn was based on Chiang’s best-selling humour book of the same title published in 1985.
And as part of the 25th anniversary of the inaugural stage play, producer Annie Pek and director Beatrice Chia-Richmond bring us a brand new iteration of this well-loved Singaporean tale, complete with new songs by Don Richmond.
This new production stars Dwayne Tan in the lead role of Malcolm, Shane Mardjuki as the effeminate Kenny, Chua Enlai as Corporal Ong, Siti Khalijah as Sergeant Khatib, Dennis Chew as Mrs Png, and Andrew Lua as Officer Heng, just to name a few.
It is hard to fight the urge to want to compare each character and scene in this production to what we remember from the film.
One might be sorely tempted to suss out if this Johari (Adi Jamaludin) is as good as Sheikh Haikel’s, or if this Kenny is as good as Kevin Verghese’s, or if Dennis Chew’s Mrs Png is as good as Margaret Chan’s.
Nonetheless, the comparisons didn’t seem to hurt this new production in any perceptible way, because the audience were literally in stitches right from the get-go.
“Army Daze” was, simply put, an absolute riot, and the solid casting had a lot to do with the show’s immense reception.
Siti Khalijah never fails to set a stage alight, and delivered the goods once again with her rendition of the new character Sergeant Khatib.
Chua Enlai was equally entertaining as the Corporal Ong who has a penchant for spouting utterly random and nonsensical adages.
Dennis Chew holds his own with a rock-solid portrayal of the over-doting Mrs Png, while Shane Mardjuki flexes considerable comedic muscle while channelling substantial doses of Maggie Lai from his last production “Purple” over onto the character Kenny.
The creative team was clever enough to incorporate many crowd-pleasing current references into this production, with mention of things such as iPhones, MRT breakdowns, maids carrying recruits’ fullpacks, and – yup, you know it had to happen – Oppa Gangnam Style!
However, “Army Daze” is not without its shortcomings.
The main cast of the five boys, while competent, just didn’t seem strong enough to shoulder the entire emotional load of the show, while it was the more peripheral characters like those played by Siti Khalijah, Chua Enlai, Dennis Chew, and Norleena Salim which gave the show its truly shining moments.
The song by the Filipina maid (played also by Siti) and the one by the recruits about having been born in China seemed totally out of place, as if they were inserted in merely for comic effect or to make a pointed statement.
And while “Army Daze” was rightfully a huge hit the past three decades, it’s hard to see how much mileage one can still wring out of a show comprising largely stereotypical Singapore caricatures in this modern day and age.
Does the cardboard cutout middle-class mummy’s boy or the chao Ah Beng or the easy-going, happy-go-lucky Malay boy still hold as much theatrical currency in today’s milieu?
Nonetheless, what makes “Army Daze” such a lovable and endearing production is the very fact that it has captured a subject that is close to the hearts of all Singaporean males (and many Singaporean females as well).
It is hard to watch the show and not reflect fondly back on your own time spent in the army and relive those precious moments – some funny, some sad, some painful.
“Army Daze” manages to do a fantastic job in capturing the essence of BMT life, and regardless of whether you’ve been through the army or not, you are guaranteed a night filled with fun, laughter, and hilarious entertainment.
National Service has never felt so entertaining.
Crossings
Event: “Crossings” by The Necessary Stage and TRAFIK
Venue: Esplanade Theatre Studio
Run: 16th – 19th Aug 2012
Unfamiliar Journeys
If theatre is the quintessential collaborative artform, then inter-cultural collaborative efforts between theatre groups from different countries take the notion a step further.
“Crossings”, as part of the Esplanade’s “The Studios” season, is a multidisciplinary collaboration between The Necessary Stage and Croatian theatre collective TRAFIK.
It attempts to explore the idea of communication, or more specifically, connection between individuals and between cultures.
The show is loosely categorised into five parts – Encounters, Couples, Tsunami, Myth, and Crossings, and although there isn’t a true narrative thread that links all the segments chronologically, they all inherently carry the common themes of communication and connection.
We learnt from the post-show dialogue that the individual disparate scenes were brainstormed months ago, and from the wealth of material the teams from TNS and TRAFIK sat down and selected the ones which they felt were the strongest and which deserved inclusion into “Crossings”.
Many of the scenes in “Crossings” were rather abstract, and it wasn’t easy to make sense of everything, especially so when scenes such as the ones on Gabriele D’Annunzio and Mama Fiume required a firm and thorough grasp of the history of Rijeka, where TRAFIK is based.
The easiest comparison one would reach for would be TNS’s “godeatgod”, performed earlier in March this year, as both “godeatgod” and “Crossings” seem to be a pastiche of oftentimes unintelligible theatre.
However, I personally felt that “Crossings” made a slightly better connection with me, and one particular bright spark which I thoroughly enjoyed was the wordless but immensely beautiful dance sequence in the second segment “Couples”, which told of the story between a loving couple and a third party that comes in the way.
Sharda Harrison must be singled out for her remarkable stage presence, and was definitely a joy to watch the entire evening with her wonderfully emotive acting and captivating dancing.
In my opinion, she was largely responsible for holding the show together.
The “Mama Fiume” segment, performed by Edvin Liveric, sadly failed to resonate as its cultural and historical significance was probably lost on most of us who were unfamiliar with the history of the seven states that ruled Rijeka in the 20th Century, plus the fact that it was hard to detract from the fact that here was a guy in heels standing in front of us literally pulling flag after flag out of his underwear and stuffing them in his mouth.
But such was the curious and sometimes unpredictable nature of “Crossings”, which at times left you bewildered, and at other times mesmerised.
Journeys, especially the meaningful ones, are never easy, but therein lies the beauty of exploration.
And in a collaborative attempt like this to bridge the crossing between two disparate cultures, if anything, you’d have to credit TNS and TRAFIK for even daring to take the first steps.
Coming Soon: Masterpiece in Motion
Event: “Masterpiece in Motion” presented by Singapore Dance Theatre
Venue: Esplanade Theatre
Run: 24th & 25th Aug 2012
Special 40% Discount On Tickets (See Details Below)
From the company who brought you “Ballet Under The Stars” comes “Masterpiece in Motion”, which plays at the Esplanade Theatre this coming Friday and Saturday as part of the Singapore Dance Theatre’s annual series of exquisite works.
This year’s installment is a triple bill of three new works of international standards – “Divertimento No. 15” by George Balanchine, “Age of Innocence” by Edwaard Liang, and “Chant” by Val Caniparoli.
“Divertimento No. 15” is a ballet in five movements, named after the music written by Mozart, which Balanchine deemed as the finest divertimento ever written.
Liang’s “Age of Innocence” is inspired by the novels of Jane Austen and women of her era, and is danced to the music of Philip Glass and Thomas Newman.
The performance of Caniparoli’s “Chant” will be a world premiere, and it is an Asian inspired peice with a rich music accompaniment by composer Lou Harrison.
This is an event not to be missed, and you are advised to get your tickets to “Masterpiece in Motion” soon.
Regular tickets can be purchased from SISTIC (here).
Moreover, the Singapore Dance Theatre is happy to offer all readers of Buttons in the Bread a 40% discount on Cat 1 and Cat 2 tickets.
Bookings are to be made through the SDT office.
To book, please call 6338 0611 or email ticketing@singaporedancetheatre.com and quote the promo code “MIM40”.
Enjoy!
Coming Soon: The Arabian Nights
Event: ‘The Arabian Nights’ by I Theatre
Venue: The Singapore Airlines Theatre, LASALLE College of the Arts
Run: 1-18 September 2012
Written & Directed by Brian Seward
Music by Bang Wenfu
Back by popular demand, I Theatre is re-staging The Arabian Nights, this time bringing in two new cast members, Dwayne Lau and Julie Wee (last seen as ‘Juliet’ in W!ld Rice’s Romeo+Juliet).
Using physical theatre, puppetry and music, the production will bring to life the tales told by Shahrazad over 1001 nights to delay her execution by the vengeful King Shahriyar. With a chosen selection of the best stories from the adventures of ‘Aladdin’, ‘Ali Baba’ and ‘Sinbad the Sailor’ to ‘The Tale of the Hunchback’ and ‘The Fisherman’, the stories depict a world of magic, adventure, heroes and princesses.
More details of the show can be found here.
Tickets can be bought at http://www.sistic.com.sg and are priced at $32 and $28 (weekday matinee).
Book Launch: Voices Clear And True: New Singapore Plays Volume 1
Event: Book Launch of “Voices Clear And True: New Singapore Plays Volume 1” by Checkpoint Theatre
Venue: The Pod @ National Library Building
Date: 18th Aug 2012
We were very kindly invited by Checkpoint Theatre to attend this evening’s launch of their latest publication – volume 1 of “Voices Clear and True”, which is a collection of eight plays by eight budding local playwrights, edited by Huzir Sulaiman, Lucas Ho and Laremy Lee.
The eight playwrights are Lucas Ho (“The Artist Who”), Faith Ng (“wo(men)”), Christine Chong (“A Malay Romance”), Dan Koh (“Staying Over”), Kenneth Chong (“Bus Driver Bring Me To Die”), Laremy Lee (“Radio Silence”), Shiv Tandan (“The Good, The Bad, and the Sholay”), and Cheryl Lee (“Framed”), and these playwrights were all at one point or other mentored by Huzir, who is also the Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre, and who also teaches playwriting at NUS.
Some of you might remember that Shiv Tandan’s “The Good, The Bad and The Sholay” was nominated for Best Original Script at this year’s Life! Theatre Awards, while Faith Ng’s “wo(men)” was nominated for the same award last year.
Moreover, Laremy Lee’s “Radio Silence” was produced by W!ld Rice in 2008 as part of “Own Time Own Target”.
Short readings of excerpts from all eight plays were made this evening, and the performers included Christopher Fok, Foo Jun Sheng, Yap Yi Kai, Tan Kheng Hua, Claire Wong and Huzir, amongst others.
Even from the short readings, one could immediately see the quality and tantalising potential in many of the plays.
It is wonderful to see Checkpoint Theatre taking such an active step in promoting the works of new playwriting talent.
In his opening address, Huzir made mention about the theatre “ecosystem”, and in order for a theatre scene to truly flourish, there has to also be a continual unearthing and nurturing of new playwriting talent.
After all, if there is no playscript, there is no theatre.
Kudos to Checkpoint Theatre for launching the first volume of “Voices Clear and True”.
I’m really excited to start flipping through the pages now and take in all the eight plays!
Books are priced at S$24.90 each.
You can purchase the books (here), or contact Checkpoint Theatre at contact@checkpoint-theatre.org for further enquiries.
Buttons In The Bread 