Behind every great production by W!LD RICE, there stands a Man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We mean, of course, Man Investments, the industry-leading alternative investment provider that has helped make W!LD RICE shows happen for the last two years. Without Man\u2019s support, we could not have put up shows like the Man Singapore Theatre Festival, Aladdin<\/em>, Romeo & Juliet<\/em>, Cooling Off Day<\/em>, La Cage Aux Folles<\/em>, and Hansel and Gretel<\/em>. For the last time, Man will be our chief sponsor for the upcoming production of The Importance Of Being Earnest<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s been an incredible ride, and we\u2019re very grateful to Man for helping us bring our shows and our message to Singapore audiences over the past two years. We took the opportunity to speak to Man Asia\u2019s managing director Tim Peach about his favourite memories of working with W!LD RICE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We started our collaboration with Ivan, Tony and W!LD RICE about two years ago. Man has always been a big supporter of the arts \u2013 we\u2019re the Man behind the Man Booker Prize, which is one of the most famous, high-profile literary prizes in the English language. When I set up our business in Singapore, I wanted to get involved in getting our name out there a bit more, to make our brand better known, and our focus was somewhere in the arts. The challenge in Singapore is that so much of the arts has historically been government-controlled. But, since I met Ivan, I realised WILD RICE was a different organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re an alternative investment organisation; we employ people who think a little bit differently, who are passionate about what they do \u2013 there are a lot of analogies there with W!LD RICE: fighting against the tide, being passionate about what they do, innovative\u2026 and when I met Ivan and Tony, I knew that was the kind of organisation I wanted to be associated with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the day, I personally \u2013 and [Man] as a firm \u2013 like doing business with people who are passionate about what they do and don\u2019t just go through the motions. Having met lots of people who are associated with the arts in Singapore, I was struggling to come across that sort of passion\u2026 whereas that\u2019s not the case with W!LD RICE. Having seen all of their productions over the last two years, you realise this is an organisation that isn\u2019t sticking to the accepted way of doing things and is always pushing the boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are two favourites that stick out very, very clearly. One is Cooling Off Day<\/em>. I learnt so much about Singapore and Singapore politics. That was a fantastically innovative show, and it\u2019s great to see [a show for which] everything, from start to finish, was done by people associated with W!LD RICE. I saw that twice, and I think it\u2019s fantastic. My biggest frustration with it is that not enough people in Singapore have seen it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other personal favourite was La Cage Aux Folles<\/em>. Partly because it\u2019s a well-known show that was put on as a big high-profile production \u2013 it was the first time I\u2019d seen W!LD RICE at the Esplanade. [But I also] know the story behind it. I know it was almost an analogy for Ivan, it was a very personal thing to put on. Just before the interval \u2013 when you see Ivan strutting on stage singing I Am What I Am<\/em>, especially when you know Ivan and the battles he\u2019s fought in his life \u2013 it\u2019s tough not to feel the emotions come flying through. That was my highlight: that moment of seeing him sing that song. It was awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously I\u2019m an \u2018ang mor\u2019 expat in Singapore and I\u2019ve lived in a number of different countries \u2013 I like to try to feel, as best I can, as part of the furniture. I feel so much more a part of Singapore, and my family has too, due to our association with W!LD RICE. I\u2019ve seen Singapore from a completely different side of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have personally become attached to the people I\u2019ve worked with in W!LD RICE. It\u2019s difficult not to become emotionally attached to someone like Ivan, once you deal with him, because he\u2019s such a passionate person\u2026 Tony does a fantastic job, and is a very good counter-balance to Ivan in terms of keeping everything running, keeping a cool head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I found it extremely upsetting telling Ivan and Tony that we had to cease our association with them for very, very strong financial reasons. My company made it very public that we\u2019re trying to find a hundred million dollars\u2019 worth of cost savings. I know how much our sponsorship means for W!LD RICE; it was tough to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Man\u2019s official association with W!LD RICE ends at the end of this April. My wife and I are now Angels and we\u2019ll continue to support W!LD RICE, albeit in a significantly smaller manner than in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think we started our sponsorship of W!LD RICE just as the National Arts Council had cut its funding. That\u2019s something I\u2019m proud of: we\u2019re the first multi-national company \u2013 a non-Singaporean organisation \u2013 that has sponsored a non-government-sanctioned arts organisation in Singapore in any meaningful size. I think many MNCs are very nervous about doing that, knowing the risks of potentially upsetting the government in Singapore. But I think it was very much worthwhile doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Everyone I\u2019ve worked with in W!LD RICE] is very passionate about what they do, very professional, often having to work in very difficult circumstances with quite a tight budget. If you compare the budgets W!LD RICE has to work with with all the productions MBS puts on, it\u2019s chalk and cheese. But what is really more important to Singapore as a nation? It\u2019s massively important and it\u2019s a shame that W!LD RICE has to work with comparatively more financial constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think many people misunderstand what the arts are supposed to be all about. The arts are not purely entertainment \u2013 the idea is that they\u2019re supposed to be thought-provoking, they\u2019re supposed to be emotional things, they\u2019re supposed to shock us in any way, shape or form, make us think about the way we go about our lives. And that\u2019s one thing I know W!LD RICE is always trying to do. The real art is getting the two together: when you exit, you feel entertained, but you also feel emotionally involved with what\u2019s going on, and it made you think as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My one criticism of Singapore is that, particularly for the youth, there\u2019s far too much focus on pure academia and not on the broader education of life \u2013 like sports and art… If you look at all the wealthy Singaporeans now, they send their kids abroad, because they realise the pressure that\u2019s placed on children is unsustainable. You don\u2019t get a broad education in life. We\u2019re not all born as great academics; I was never a great academic. But fortunately I was born and brought up in a system where you don\u2019t judge people purely on their grades, but on sport, and other things they\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyone can just study and do as they\u2019re told, but when you go into a theatre company, you\u2019ve got to motivate yourself to do it. No one\u2019s pushing you to do it. Society\u2019s all about having a different cross-section of people, strong at different types of things. In my view, Singapore would be stronger if it can encourage things other than academia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wouldn\u2019t want to be seen as criticising what happened in the past \u2013 it\u2019s very easy to look back now and say \u2018What we were doing is wrong\u2019. Singapore has been based, in my view, on this very huge focus on academia to get everyone up to the standard that\u2019s way up and above all the neighbouring countries. But you\u2019re only as good as your last deal \u2013 you have to evolve, you have to keep on moving. And if you realise the education system needs to move on a further step, then it needs to evolve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Behind every great production by W!LD RICE, there stands a Man. We mean, of course, Man Investments, the industry-leading alternative investment provider that has helped make W!LD RICE shows happen for the last two years. Without Man\u2019s support, we could not have put up shows like the Man Singapore Theatre Festival, Aladdin, Romeo & Juliet, Cooling Off Day, La …<\/p>\nHow did you first come on board with W!LD RICE?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
What aspect of W!LD RICE\u2019s shows and ethos appeal to you?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Your support has helped us put some really incredible shows. Do you personally have a sentimental favourite?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
What are some of your favourite memories about working with W!LD RICE?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Did you ever have any concerns about providing funding for W!LD RICE?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
How important are the arts to you personally?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n