PUBLISHED April 29th, 2015 04:00 pm | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 03:09 pm
As Singapore celebrates its 50th birthday this year, W!LD RICE, one of Singapore’s leading professional theatre companies, is also celebrating its anniversary in 2015. To mark this milestone, the company is presenting imagiNATION, a season of five exciting new productions inspired by the stars of the Singapore flag. Hence, the productions will reflect the themes represented by the stars: democracy, peace, progress, equality and justice.
DEMOCRACY: Public Enemy
An adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s powerful and timely classic, directed by Glen Goei and starring Ivan Heng and Lim Kay Siu, which will challenge the assumptions associated with democratic ideals.
PEACE: Another Country
A Singapore-Malaysia co-production that brings together the finest writers and performers from both sides of the Causeway to reflect on the history and culture shared by two countries that were separated at birth.
PROGRESS: Hotel
This stirring epic observes Singapore’s development through the prism of one hotel room and its inhabitants over the past ten decades. Commissioned by the Singapore International Art Festival, it’s written by Alfian Sa’at and directed by Ivan Heng and Glen Goei.
EQUALITY: The Emperor’s New Clothes
W!LD RICE’s end of year pantomime is hotly anticipated, and 2015 is no different. Directed by Pam Oei and scripted by Joel Tan, their rendition of The Emperor’s New Clothes, will definitely see a cheeky local twist to the Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale.
JUSTICE
The production in this is series is still a work-in-progress – kind of ironic, we know.
We Chat with Ivan Heng
W!LD RICE was founded in 2000 by Ivan Heng, an internationally-acclaimed and award-winning theatre practitioner, who is also currently the Artistic Director of W!LD RICE. We caught up with him to get his insights on WR15, SG50 and imagiNATION:
‘WR15 coincides, of course, with SG50,’ said Ivan Heng. ‘The entire country will be caught up in a year-long celebration of what makes us uniquely Singaporean, and we plan to join in the festivities in our very own W!LD way. Inspired by the stars of our flag, our goal is to give expression to the aspirations and values that have brought us thus far as a nation, and to understand them in the context of an increasingly complex modern society. Audiences can look forward to a surprising, thought-provoking and perhaps more nuanced celebration of who we are and what it means to live in Singapore today.’ he added.
How did the name for W!LD RICE’s 2015 / 16 season – imagiNATION – come about?
Albert Einstein says: ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’ Why? Because imagination goes beyond what we know and understand. It opens up entire vistas for thought and creativity. Our imagination challenges us to think and explore a wider world beyond the one we think we already know. I know of no better place than the theatre to enable a community of people to envisage the possibilities of our times.
In celebrating Singapore’s golden jubilee, we were inspired to think about the idea of nationhood. What is a nation? What is our nation? How do we all fit into this nation called Singapore, and is there room within this ‘imagined political community’ – in the words of Benedict Anderson – for alternative viewpoints?
What is the message you hope the audience will take home after watching each imagiNATION production?
It’s a celebration! This may well be the most dynamic, artistically challenging, notorious, inclusive, creative, and fun season ever for W!LD RICE. We hope everyone will go home thoroughly entertained, inspired, and charged up.
2015 is SG50 and also W!LD RICE’s 15th anniversary. How would you describe the influence that W!LD RICE has had on the local theatre scene over the past 15 years?
It’s been a privilege to entertain and serve our community. W!LD RICE’s greatest achievement has been to give Singaporeans a sense of pride and belonging. Every act of theatre is about community and communication. In that sense, the theatre is like a town hall: it brings people from all walks of life together to share in a communal experience.
By providing a platform for our wonderful local talent, we’ve consistently demonstrated that Singapore has what it takes to make thought-provoking, intelligent, exciting theatre that ranks among the best in the world.
Out of all the W!LD RICE productions over the past 15 years, which are the W!LD RICE classics that you hope will be performed for the next 15 years or more?
There are so many great productions in our repertoire that are considered classics now – like Emily of Emerald Hill, Animal Farm, and The Importance of Being Earnest have all played to sold-out audiences in Singapore as well as internationally. Plays like the Asian Boy’s Trilogy, Cooling Off Day and Cook a Pot of Curry are new plays today and hopefully, the classics of tomorrow.
W!ld Rice’s imagiNATION season runs from April 2015 to April 2016. Catch the first production, Public Enemy at Victoria Theatre from 9-25 April 2015. For more information and tickets, please see W!ld Rice’s website or SISTIC.