{"id":35370,"date":"2013-04-01T12:44:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-01T04:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/?p=35370"},"modified":"2021-06-02T12:52:04","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T04:52:04","slug":"the-fairfax-est-of-them-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/the-fairfax-est-of-them-all\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fairfax-est Of Them All"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Four years ago, Chua Enlai threw on a tux, slicked back his hair and emerged onstage as the Hon. Gwendolyn Fairfax \u2013 a beautiful young lady who has dreamed her entire life of being married to a man named Ernest. His performance in W!LD RICE\u2019s The Importance Of Being Earnest<\/em> was a huge hit with audiences and critics alike, garnering him the honour of Best Supporting Actor in the 2010 Life! Theatre Awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spoke to Enlai two days before the first preview of our 2013 production of Earnest<\/em>, perhaps the busiest time in the entire run of a show. Technical rehearsals are underway to ensure that the lighting and sound effects are in place, and costumes are busily being re-fitted and overhauled for the next day\u2019s full-dress rehearsals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While waiting for the finishing touches to his costume, Enlai watches in consternation as \u2013 one by one \u2013 his fellow cast-mates finish up and get ready to leave for the night. \u201cYou also can go back?\u201d he laments. \u201cEverybody can go back except me! Wah lau<\/em> \u2013 am I the last one?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s joking, of course, and is in fact more than happy to talk with us about becoming Gwendolyn again for his tenth production with W!LD RICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was your first reaction to the idea of doing an all-male version of Earnest<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I thought it was very exciting. I\u2019ve always loved the piece. I read it when I was much younger; it was one of the first pieces I read in drama class, I think. I haven\u2019t seen it staged before\u2026 I was very thrilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did the part of Gwendolyn come to you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I remember we did reads in different combinations at [director Glen Goei\u2019s] house. We all read several characters, I think, and then it was a manner of determining who fits where.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you approach playing this part?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

To a certain degree, there are the technicalities \u2013 the accent, the period, your body and all that. But the language is so well-written that it tells the story for you. The humour is in it, you don\u2019t have to force it. The story is in it, and the intentions are very clear. It\u2019s up to us to make it even clearer, to make that leap from page to stage and communicate it to the audience. But a lot of it is already done for you because it\u2019s so well-written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In revisiting the part after four years, have you discovered anything new?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I had forgotten all my lines \u2013 I couldn\u2019t believe how little of it I remembered! But then we started Earnest rehearsals in earnest, and at times, I found that I was doing things that perhaps I had done already, in almost exactly the same way \u2013 \u2019cause it\u2019s like muscle memory, you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what\u2019s interesting this time is trying to do something different. I did find that, at times, there were things I got a bit stuck in, because I was trying to remember how it was last time. But it\u2019s interesting to have the foundation there, and have the ability to decide whether to deviate from it or push it. Glen\u2019s giving us the freedom to explore that. In terms of characterisation, he\u2019s definitely very open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been in a re-staged production before \u2013 when the shows were a month apart. I found that a very enriching experience. My lines were still there, so you don\u2019t go through that battle of relearning, but I felt that everything was a bit deeper. Hopefully, this time round, from everyone who\u2019s done it before, we\u2019ve got a deeper understanding of the characters and the situation and the whole play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your favourite moment in the play?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My favourite moment is the tea scene between Gwendolyn and Cecily \u2013 that\u2019s also the most frightening scene [to do] ever, it\u2019s really scary. I have heart palpitations before I go on! It\u2019s really, really scary because it\u2019s so snappy and it\u2019s so sharp. But it\u2019s quite phenomenal \u2013 it\u2019s like playing Olympic-grade table-tennis!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has working on Earnest<\/em> with W!LD RICE meant to you?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m very honoured and very flattered to be called back to do the show again. I think this is my tenth show with W!LD RICE, which is a nice number. I\u2019ve played many different roles in past W!LD RICE shows; it\u2019s very meaningful to me because it\u2019s such a wonderful show. It\u2019s a wonderful play in itself, and the W!LD RICE production just made it so special. That\u2019s why I\u2019m really happy to come back and do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you hope the audience takes away with them after watching Earnest?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I hope they go home with a stomach and sore throats that are hurting from laughing too much. But, apart from that, I hope people don\u2019t go back just thinking \u2018Oh what a funny night\u201d, but also think that it was more meaningful than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not one to want to force any message down anyone\u2019s throats, but there are themes in this play about keeping up appearances, as well as the very striking decision to cast all men in this show. There are many layers and many meanings you can derive from the production. And I do hope that people go back with an understanding or an appreciation of some of these themes. It could be exciting, it could be disturbing, it could be \u2013 whatever, but it\u2019s not meant to just be, it\u2019s<\/em> a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve done everything \u2013 television, theatre and movies.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re all very, very different. When it comes to performance, and getting there, it\u2019s completely, completely different. The performance mode is very different. Whether I\u2019m in the studio shooting The Noose<\/em> or doing a cameo in Taxi! Taxi!<\/em> or trying to get blown up in Cambodia [in Judgment Day<\/em>], it\u2019s all so varied. I think Singaporean actors are very lucky to be in that situation where they can do all three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I miss when I do television or films is the rehearsal process. You don\u2019t get that emotional journey \u2013 that through-line that you get in theatre, since you rarely shoot in sequence for the screen, unless you\u2019re talking about variety shows, which is its own mode of performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you actually have a preference for any of these mediums?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I started out onstage and it is my first love. It\u2019s that energy that is very electric. Sometimes, on television, it feels like it\u2019s just me in front of the lens, and the performance has to be magnetic enough to transcend the lens. But you\u2019re not reaching out to the audience, so to speak. For the screen, a lot of the process happens without the actor. It happens in post-production, or in editing. There, an actor does not have as much power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theatre involves the actors a lot more; it\u2019s more holistic for the actors. In theatre, actors are the ones directly interacting with the audience. It\u2019s two-way traffic. Onstage, even with the fourth wall, there are techniques you have to engage to connect and engage with the audience. That\u2019s a great challenge but it\u2019s also really amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of censorship, there\u2019s a lot more freedom in the theatre in terms of being able to say things and in terms of ideas either being more esoteric or more daring \u2013 there are greater opportunities there. In terms of writing, I think you also get more opportunities to deal with better texts onstage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think about the local theatre industry? How has it changed since you started out here as an actor?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s really blossomed. There are now so many voices in theatre, different points of view, different styles, different ways that people execute things, different issues. That makes it all very exciting. It\u2019s a great deal more diverse, and there\u2019s a lot more support now than there was just a few years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four years ago, Chua Enlai threw on a tux, slicked back his hair and emerged onstage as the Hon. Gwendolyn Fairfax \u2013 a beautiful young lady who has dreamed her entire life of being married to a man named Ernest. His performance in W!LD RICE\u2019s The Importance Of Being Earnest was a huge hit with audiences and …<\/p>\n

The Fairfax-est Of Them All<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":35371,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[339,146,141],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35370"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}