Forget the stage, theatre gets unconventional with Skinned Knee Productions

PUBLISHED November 14th, 2013 12:43 am | UPDATED January 20th, 2016 03:44 pm

When you think of theatre, what comes to mind? You might imagine sitting in a stuffy playhouse, stuck in a seat that you can’t even get out of to go to the toilet. But what if we told you that theatre could be staged and watched in a more unconventional way?

Cue Skinned Knee Productions, a local theatre company, which has made staging theatre in unconventional spaces – including bars and even the beach – their hallmark.

Their forthcoming production – OX, an intimately poignant and sometimes surreal exploration of the connections between love and grief, tradition and modernity, memory and reality – is being staged in none other than one of our favourite bars, The Vault (and its new home in Boat Quay, no less).

We talk to Artistic Director Rayann Condy about the beauty of taking theatre, out of the theatre:

Staging theatre in unconventional spaces has become your hallmark – what led you down that route?

We wanted to do a show a few years ago with very little budget. Theatres are very expensive to hire so we started looking at alternatives, which lead us to find Speakeasy, a bar in a beautiful old shophouse.  The space and the amazing team at Speakeasy really became part of the piece, like an extra character.  You were immersed in the world of the play – not just sitting in a dark theatre. Since then its become a choice rather than a necessity.

Do you feel staging plays outside the theatre transforms the idea of what theatre can be?

Yes – it makes theatre a little less intimidating. If you can have a meal, picnic or a few drinks on the beach or at a bar more people seem willing to give it a try. A lot of people have said, ‘I don’t normally go to theatre but I thought I’d try this…’, I think it also makes the feeling less formal and more intimate.

How does staging theatre outside of the theatre give a different feel and atmosphere?

It allows people to engage more of their senses – some great food or a nice glass of wine makes the experience fuller and more relaxed. At our last show people had to sit and sometimes share a dinner table with strangers – people talked to their new table mates, introduced themselves, chatted. In everyday life we tend to ignore the unknown people around us. But for some reason the setting changed that.

So far you’ve staged theatre in restaurants, bars and beaches. Have you got anything more offbeat in your sights?

Actually I have always wanted to use one of Singapore’s most notorious haunted buildings, but a lot of people told me not to. I was advised that many people would be too superstitious to come. I’d love to hear what your readers think. Would you come see theatre in a haunted building?

What are the challenges of staging a theatre piece outside of the theatre?

It really forces you to be creative about using what’s at hand. How do you put a car in a café or a river in a bar? We’ve had to find answers to those and many other questions.

OX is showing at The Vault on 5th – 7th December 2013. For more information and to book tickets see the Skinned Knee website here.