{"id":735,"date":"2018-07-05T09:18:43","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T01:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wr\/wr\/?p=735"},"modified":"2019-12-09T17:39:14","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T09:39:14","slug":"in-the-directors-chair-an-interview-with-ivan-heng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/in-the-directors-chair-an-interview-with-ivan-heng\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Director’s Chair: An Interview with Ivan Heng"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This year\u2019s Singapore Theatre Festival features eight brand-new plays. What thrills you about the line-up?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The fact that every single play in this season is for and about Singapore. I founded WILD RICE because I felt that Singaporean stories need to be told. So it\u2019s especially thrilling to work on eight new and original works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While each of these plays are told from a distinctly Singaporean point of view, each show also speaks to the universal experience of being human and the times we live in. Over the next three weeks, we\u2019ll be exploring issues that everyone can relate to – like press freedom, the plight of foreign domestic workers, racism, heritage, sex, love and politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re directing two of the eight plays that will make their world premieres at the Festival. What has that experience been like?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Exhausting\u2026 but also exhilarating! Directing two plays at once is quite challenging! I\u2019ve had to be very disciplined with my schedule, because I can go from a concept meeting for Faghag <\/em>in the morning to a full run of Press Gang<\/em> in the afternoon. Fortunately, I\u2019ve been blessed with two fantastic creative and production teams who have helped me pull both shows together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working on brand-new plays is always exciting because you have a blank canvas. There\u2019s no precedent – no model from which you can take inspiration. The act of pure creation – bringing a play from page to stage – is scary, but also thrilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s turn to Press Gang<\/em>. As the Festival\u2019s Co-Artistic Director, why did you commission this script?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re living in interesting times. The press all over the world is under attack. Externally, from politicians like Donald Trump and the fact that you can get the news online. But internally too, especially in a country like Singapore. The press in our country isn\u2019t free. We all know that. But how much of that freedom is taken away \u2013 and how much is given away? How much self-censorship goes on in our newsrooms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I commissioned Tarn How to write the play because he’s one of our foremost playwrights – who was also a Straits Times journalist for 15 years! I knew he would have a really unique insight into this very Singaporean phenomenon. Also, we hardly have any plays about press freedom in Singapore \u2013 even though we rank 151st<\/sup> on the World Press Freedom Index! There\u2019s obviously plenty to say about that, right?
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ivan confers with playwright Tan Tarn How on a tricky moment in Press Gang<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What are some of the challenges you faced in directing this production and bringing this script to life?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Tarn How\u2019s play is political. And by that, I don\u2019t just mean \u2018politics\u2019 as in \u2018politicians\u2019 \u2013 although that\u2019s present and accounted for. There\u2019s also small-p politics, like those in any organisation or bureaucracy. The characters are always on guard. There\u2019s an air of paranoia to the everyday. So each scene, each conversation, has its undertones of intrigue and power play. Playing politics all day is dirty but fun!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will we recognise some of the characters in Press Gang<\/em>?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental\u2026 of course!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More seriously, what Tarn How has done is quite remarkable. The characters in his fictional newsroom truly represent a microcosm of Singaporean society. They cover our political spectrum: from the conservative to the liberal and radical; from the ignorant and apathetic and compromised, to those who are woke and trying to change the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you hope audiences take home with them after watching Press Gang<\/em>?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve always believed in the power of theatre to entertain as well as enlighten. So I hope our audiences have fun, first and foremost! But I also hope they will gain some insight into the relationship between the press and the government in Singapore. The media is supposed to keep us informed about what goes on in the world. If they don\u2019t, or can\u2019t, inform us about something we ought to know about, what implications does that have for us as individuals and as a society?
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ivan looks on as Pam Oei shares family photos and personal anecdotes for Faghag<\/em>!
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last but certainly not least: what\u2019s it like working on Faghag<\/em> with Pam Oei?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an absolute delight! Pam is one of my dearest friends, and also one of the most gifted performers I know. She\u2019s been talking about creating this one-woman show for years<\/em>. So I gave her a deadline for this Singapore Theatre Festival, and here we are!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m really glad to have this opportunity to work with her on a script and a cause that\u2019s so close to both our hearts. In all the years I\u2019ve known her, Pam has been a tireless champion of the LGBTQIA community. As a straight ally and a mother, she’s always fought fiercely for equality and justice. As her director and as her friend, it\u2019s a privilege for me to give Pam this platform to tell her very personal story as \u2018Singapore\u2019s #1 Faghag\u2019!
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ivan Heng is pulling triple duty! What excites him as Co-Artistic Director of Singapore Theatre Festival 2018? And what it\u2019s like directing two brand-new plays \u2013 Tan Tarn How\u2019s Press Gang and Pam Oei\u2019s Faghag \u2013 at the same time?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Ivan Heng is pulling triple duty! What excites him as Co-Artistic Director of Singapore Theatre Festival 2018?","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","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":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","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":[9],"tags":[25,44,59,30,60],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735"}],"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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}