{"id":47750,"date":"2022-03-01T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/?p=47750"},"modified":"2022-03-01T10:29:58","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T02:29:58","slug":"wild-rice-returns-to-form-with-a-new-adaptation-of-molieres-masterpiece-tartuffe-the-imposter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wild-rice-returns-to-form-with-a-new-adaptation-of-molieres-masterpiece-tartuffe-the-imposter\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild Rice returns to form with a new adaptation of Moli\u00e8re\u2019s masterpiece, Tartuffe: The Imposter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1 March 2022 \u2013 In celebration of the 400th anniversary of iconic French playwright Moli\u00e8re\u2019s birth, Wild Rice has commissioned a new adaptation of Tartuffe: The Imposter<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by critically acclaimed playwright Joel Tan, this bold, thought-provoking update on Moli\u00e8re\u2019s satirical classic will be directed by Wild Rice\u2019s Co-Artistic Director, Glen Goei.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJoel has written a bitingly funny adaptation of a world classic that Glen and I have been dreaming of staging for many years,\u201d says Founding Artistic Director Ivan Heng, who will be leading the cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn keeping with our mission of reimagining the world\u2019s classics for Singapore audiences today, we have assembled an amazing team of designers and a terrific company of actors. I can\u2019t wait to get back on stage and make magic with them all!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First produced in 1664, the play introduces audiences to Tartuffe (played by Benjamin Chow), a charming, seductive con artist masquerading as a man of faith. Chaos and calamity ensue when Orgon (Heng), a wealthy, gullible man, falls for Tartuffe\u2019s lies and schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On what inspired him in adapting this play for Singapore audiences, Tan says, \u201cTartuffe <\/em>cracks me up, but there\u2019s also something humbling and sobering about a French play reaching out from the 17th century and having so much to say about all of us in modern-day Singapore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTartuffe<\/em>\u2019s themes of hypocrisy and moral outrage still resonate today. What happens when you let the religious hypocrites in, to the point that they determine the practices of your household \u2013 and, by extension, your neighbourhood, your town, and your entire political system?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe more I learned about Tartuffe<\/em>, the more it felt like a play that could have been written about us, just last week.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No stranger to directing the classics for the Singapore stage is Goei, who has helmed some of Wild Rice\u2019s greatest hits, including Oscar Wilde\u2019s The Importance of Being Earnest<\/em>, Marc Camoletti\u2019s Boeing Boeing<\/em>, Henrik Ibsen\u2019s Public Enemy<\/em> and Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein\u2019s La Cage Aux Folles<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTartuffe<\/em> has always been one of my favourite plays, because it walks the knife-edge of being incredibly funny whilst also challenging you to think about the bigger questions of faith, morality and blind devotion,\u201d says Goei. \u201cOver the past few months, we\u2019ve collaborated with our fantastic creative team to dream up the contemporary yet classical world of Tartuffe<\/em>. I\u2019m looking forward to getting into the rehearsal room with this cast full of Singapore\u2019s most brilliant performers!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joining Heng and Chow on stage will be award-winning actress Pam Oei; acclaimed stage and screen stars like Oon Shu An, Jo Tan, Shane Mardjuki and Brendon Fernandez; and talented newcomer Dennis Sofian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are keeping all our fingers crossed that the government will soon reinstate full-capacity seating in venues like ours,\u201d says Heng. \u201cOur audiences deserve to see a thrilling production like this that makes full use of the potential of The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre @ Wild Rice opened in August 2019. In its first six months of operations, the company\u2019s new home welcomed a total of 60,000 audience members before it had to close due to COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since theatres reopened in Singapore in November 2020, the venue has played to socially distanced audiences of just a third of its 358-seat capacity. Nonetheless, the company persevered and has since presented no fewer than 20 productions \u2013 uplifting audiences while also providing jobs for freelancers in Singapore\u2019s theatre industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tartuffe: The Imposter<\/a> <\/em>will play at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre from 7 April 2022.<\/strong> Tickets go on sale to Wild Rice Angels from 1 March, and to the general public from noon on 7 March (Monday).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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