Journey through Paris with A Singaporean In Paris!

PUBLISHED March 4th, 2014 11:36 pm | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 03:18 pm

Sing’theatre returns with a new vamped up version of A Singaporean In Paris! Directed by Hossan Leong, the plot revolves around the experience of a Singaporean artist who travels to Paris to pursue his life-long dream of performing in a cabaret. He navigates his way around a new city, language and culture and finds himself in the company of other foreign talents, each pursuing their own dreams and overcoming their own hurdles in this exotic new city. Paris and the Parisians are not always what they expect and romance doesn’t always come with wine and accordions!

The cast will comprise of Linden Furnell, Mina Kaye, Peter Ong, Vicky Williamson, and Hossan Leong. This cabaret comedy was first staged in 2010.  The 2014 version will be bigger and brighter. We asked Nathalie Ribette, the Artistic Director of Sing’theatre and the creator and producer to tell us more about the upcoming production:

Why has Sing’theatre decided to do another production of “A Singaporean In Paris”?

We realized that many people were not able to watch the show back in 2010, as it was sold-out, so we thought it would really make sense to bring back the musical now! Considering the current environment – more and more expats living in Singapore – it makes even more sense to bring the show now, as it is an instructive and funny illustration of the differences between Singaporean and French people (or more generally European). Singaporeans get to see how difficult a culture shock can be, when one tries to settle abroad. We conducted extensive interviews with Singaporeans who lived or are still living in France. What attracts, what frustrates, what confuses, what delights, all comes out in A Singaporean In Paris, in monologues and scenes, alternately comical and meaningful.

What will be the main differences between this production and the one in 2010?

We want to bring ‘A Singaporean in Paris’ to a higher level. We will play in a bigger location (SOTA Drama Theatre vs. DBS Arts Centre), with brand new costumes from Singapore fashion icon, Daniel Boey. Hossan Leong will be directing the 2014 show (Christina Sergeant in 2010) and will still be on stage, bringing in fresh and international talented blood: Linden Furnell, Mina Kaye, Peter Ong and Vicky Williamson. In the previous show, there were 4 Singaporean (playing Singaporean) and a Caucasian. The new cast now integrates new nationalities, such as Singaporean Mina who will play a Persian girl and Australian Linden who will play…an Australian! This is interesting as we are talking about the view of various foreigners coming to live in Europe and discovering France, and not only Singaporeans.

What are the other Sing’theatre productions we can look forward in 2014?

Sing’theatre is currently working on ‘Moliere et moi’ (Moliere and I), a play about French playwright Moliere – who can be seen as the ‘French Shakespeare’ …to make it simple! The play will be staged in April 2014. We decided to exceptionally bring this show in French language only, as it is really tricky to translate French from the 17th century. Any translation would make the play lose its intensity. We are really happy to bring such a production to Singapore for all French language lovers, and French students for whom Moliere’s life and scripts are a major part of their studies.

We also caught up with cast members Linden Furnell and Mina Kaye…

What are you looking forward to most in ‘A Singaporean In Paris’?

Linden: I am very excited to get back onstage with Mina and Hossan, and of course work with Peter and Vicky for the first time! It’s a hot little cast.

Mina: Working with Hossan and Peter again! The last time I worked with the two of them was in the musical COMPANY back in 2012, my first musical fresh out of theatre school! It was such an incredible experience. Hossan is one of the best directors I’ve worked with. And of course, learning French! I learnt it at school when I was in Dubai, but can’t remember a thing! French is a beautiful language, but it’s gonna be a big challenge too!

What is your role in this production and how are you preparing for it?

Linden: I am playing George Chan’s role, who is now called Terry. He’s an Aussie song and dance man who left his country to pursue a life in cabaret in Paris. In a way that’s exactly what I had done in coming to Singapore. Prep? Well there’s no substitute for practice… And I’ve got a couple tough numbers and big shoes to fill! Tap shoes.

Mina: I play Sofia, a Persian girl living in France. A lot of people don’t know that the Persians and the French share a lot of the same culture. Culturally, the Persians were linked with the French culture about 100 years ago. “Merci” in Farsi also means “Thank you”. They say the months of the year in French too! (Janvier, Fevrier, Mars..etc.). Even their behaviours are very much like French people; very refined, and very fashionable!  My biggest challenge is definitely learning to pronounce the French words with ease, especially since my character has been living in France for a while!

Which do you enjoy most – performing in comedy-cabaret productions, musicals or drama?

Linden: I wouldn’t say I have a preference for comedy or drama. They go hand in hand most often, and need one another for full effect. Of course, I’m a joker and a larrikin at heart so I do lean towards more comedic material. As far as form goes, I’ll usually take a musical over a straight play if I have a choice. It’s more in keeping with my skill set and personality.

Mina: I love everything as long as I get the chance to perform! I definitely love musical theatre, especially classic Broadway book musicals, but that’s a rare opportunity! So I pretty much enjoy doing everything that involves singing, dancing and acting.

What is in your pipeline for 2014 / 2015?

Linden: Right after this I’ll be playing guitar along Daniel Chai in Lasalle’s production of The Wedding Singer in April. Then I’m flying to New York to check the scene out. I’m looking for a place to base myself permanently and build a career. I love Australia but there’s a big world out there. In August I’ll be back to do Lim Yu Beng’s new play for the Georgetown festival. After that, who knows!

Mina: I’m thrilled to be making my debut title role as Little Voice in Pangdemonium’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, which opens May 2nd – 18th at the Drama Centre Theatre.

A Singaporean In Paris opens at the SOTA Drama Theatre on 11 March 2014.  For more information, visit www.sistic.com.sg and www.singtheatre.com.