SIFA 2019 Presents: The Mysterious Lai Teck 神秘莱特

In The Mysterious Lai Teck, acclaimed Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen leads you into the labyrinthine underworld of spies, in this portrait of one of Southeast Asia’s most shadowy historical figures.

Who is Lai Teck?

History remembers him as the leader of the Malayan Communist Party from 1939 to 1947, and a triple agent for the French, British and Japanese secret police. Yet the real man is an enigma. Rumoured to have over 30 pseudonyms, his story is full of gaps and contradictions culled from the accounts of fellow spies and traitors, and various authors of histories.

Blending fact and fictional speculation, visual artist Ho recreates the charged atmosphere of Lai Teck’s times in an inventive staging, featuring an animatronic puppet, visual projections and theatrical drapes.

Offering a window into an embattled period of Southeast Asian history, The Mysterious Lai Teck is an extended reflection emerging from Ho’s long-term project, The Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia.

The Mysterious Lai Teck is a thrilling snapshot of the shifting face of Southeast Asia in the Age of Treason, and of a man caught between the ruthless forces of history.

Performed in Mandarin with English surtitles

For full festival line-up, please visit www.sifa.sg

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17 May – 19 May 2019
Fri & Sat, 8pm
Sun, 5pm & 8pm

SOTA Drama Theatre

(Approximately 1h, no intermission)

Ratings: General

$40*
*Limited concessions available for students, NSFs and seniors

Limited student front row tickets at $10