“With this special season of The Studios, we honour and celebrate all practitioners, past and present, for making what is Singapore English Theatre today. We would also like to thank all the directors, actors and designers involved in fifty, for lending their fresh interpretations and insights to these 50 plays. We hope the plays will continue to inspire a new generation of audiences and practitioners alike, and contribute to our collective memories.” – Co-curator Chong Tze Chien and The Studios team
Esplanade: Studios Fifty was held in conjunction with SG50. Over five weeks, plays and dramatized readings were written, read, and performed by Singaporeans at the Esplanade. Speaking as someone who attended a grand total of one full-length performance, one dramatized reading and one open rehearsal, to say that Fifty was good would be a grievous understatement.
Fifty would be better described as a melting pot of overwhelming emotion and breathtaking artistry, showcased by an entire range of actors – from household names like Adrian Pang and Ebi Shankara, to lesser-known but equally talented ensemble members, vis-a-vis Ellison Tan and Amanda Tee, to name a few. A highlight of Fifty was the chilling, and profoundly moving performance of Haresh Sharma’s ‘Off Centre’. It shone a chilling spotlight on the struggles of the mentally ill, right here in Singapore. Also noteworthy was Singapore english theatre’s breakthrough production ‘Emily of Emerald Hill’, helmed by Karen Tan as the morally ambiguous Peranakan matriarch struggling with the trials and traumas of life. Of the numerous dramatized readings presented during Fifty, one standout read was Tan Tarn How’s ‘Fear of Writing’ and ‘Machine’, which gave the audience excerpts of two same-same-yet-different plays, skillfully blended together to create an eerie depiction of romance and relationships in our consumerist, manipulative modern society.
Cast of ‘Fear of Writing’ and ‘Machine’: Andrew Lua, Zee Wong, Amanda Tee, Terence Tay.Cast of ‘Off Centre’: Siti Khalijah, Ebi Shankara, Neo Swee Lin, Myra Loke, Ellison Tan, Joshua Lim, Neo Hai Bin, Erwin Shah Ismail.
Some performances depicted a time now immortalized in sepia recollections, giving us an avenue to better understand the evolution of our country’s political consciousness and national identity. Some gave us a glimpse behind the curtain, into what we might see in the future we are building. Some showed us a terrifyingly unsentimental painting of our present. And all of them, together, weave the tapestry that is a history of Singapore theatre (and in extension, of Singapore). Fifty plays were not and will never be enough to truly represent the growth and development of our nation and its theatre scene. But these fifty did reflect wonderfully on the richness of the literary works that have been produced over this half of a century that we have called Singapore home, and more importantly they gave new directors and actors a chance to breathe new life and interpretations into these works- and at heart, isn’t that what we, as a country, are trying to do with our nation at this point in time?
In essence, Studios Fifty is and was meta-theatre- a series of plays within the elaborate drama that is our Singapore Story; a microcosm of the country we live, work and play in. Theatre can hardly be seen as the most uniquely Singaporean icon we have, and yet these fifty performances have shown how theatre is a perfect avenue to illustrate the journey our country has undertaken so far, and where we can go next, how we can continue the series of successes that have given us the concrete-jungle-garden-city that we have today.
There is much to celebrate about SG50. And while we as the next generation of Singaporeans sit in the audience, reflect on and give thanks for what has been, what is most important is that we learn, we build, we adapt. We are youths. We are the future of this country we call home. And it would do us well to remember that we have much work to do, on stage, and off it.
The writer would like to thank Aberdeen Seet, Steph Dogfoot and Andrew Lua for the help they provided in the writing of this article.
By Melissa Choi (16S06B) , Tasharani Palani (16S03P), Kristal Ng (16S07C)
Photos by Hoang Thai Nhat Thu (15S07B), and RI Boarding
RI Boarding’s Courtyard– a pleasant place for boarders to chat, relax, or even study.
You might have heard of friends or classmates who board and even seen these five cream-coloured blocks as you flock between the JC and Secondary campus, but have you ever wondered about the inner workings of RI Boarding? Housing a range of students: from scholars, private boarders, to a handful of national athletes, boarders have been shown to stay for a whole host of reasons – be it greater independence, to cut down on travelling time (it takes 5 minutes to walk to morning assembly), or because their families are overseas. Regardless, RI Boarding aims to make their experience one of “a home away from home that readies (them) for the challenges of school and life beyond school.”
Ever wanted to rant about that someone you just can’t stand? Overwhelmed with too many feelings? Check out Raffles Press’ new column, Ask Aunt Agony and Uncle Upset, and our resident Aunties and Uncles will be glad to help you with your Rafflesian troubles! Submit your confessions to tinyurl.com/rafflesadvicecolumn and we’ll give them our best shot.
By Louisa Li (16A13A)
Photos by Nicholas Chang (16S03K)
Additional reporting by Karen Cuison (16A01D)
In the Shaw Foundation Library (SFL), empty chairs are pushed in, books are classified exactly to the second Dewey Decimal, and a stream of high-quality books, magazines and audio-visual material is categorized as it comes in. Maintaining this pristine order across four floors is no small feat. A while back, Raffles Press caught up with our resident SFL librarians – Mrs Kumar, Ms Tan and Ms Tang – to find out how they do it.
By Adelyn Tan (16A01E), Choo Shuen Ming (16A01E) and Huang Jiawen (16S06G)
Photos by Hee Xin Wei (15S03I) and Chang Po Chun (16S03K)
20th May saw our Badminton Girls playing their finals against NYJC for a shot at 2nd runners’ up, and our Badminton Boys going toe-to-toe against AC in a bid to earn the championship title for this season. With four matches going on at once, the atmosphere in Toa Payoh Sports Hall was tense, with a strong show of support from spectators looking forward to intense performances from both the Girls and Boys’ teams.
Badminton is a deceptively simple sport, requiring players to win rallies so as to score points; when a player wins a rally and scores a point, they then serve again from the alternate service court. The side that first scores 21 points, or 2 more points than their opponent in the event of a deuce, wins a game and wins the match once they win three games.
Wei Yee (16S03K) represented the RI Badminton Girls in their first match of the day. One would expect the very first player of the day stepping up to the court to suffer from bouts of nervousness, but Wei Yee was confident in her strokes, maintaining a comfortable lead throughout the game. Not long after the match had started, she managed to secure a win for RI, boosting the morale of the team and their supporters, setting the mood for the next game.
In the doubles, we had Kelly Tan (15S07B) and Charissa Wong (15S03G) in the first doubles, and Charis Chan (16S07A) and Elizabeth Yaw (16S06C) in the second. The coordination within each pair was seamless, enabling the RI girls to maintain strong lines of defense while directing their attacks at the blind spots in their opponents’ line of defense. Keeping up a steady momentum, both pairs sailed smoothly to victory with scores of 21 – 09, 21 -11 for the last games of the 1st and 2nd doubles matches respectively.
Chin Wei Yee (16S03K)
Particularly intense was the RI badminton girls’ 2nd singles match of the day, the follow-up game to two winning streaks, played by Chung Shiqi (16S06O). A seasoned and experienced badminton player, Shiqi had a powerful smash that she often used to her advantage. After dashing to the front of the net for the shuttlecock and sending it flying to the end of the court opposite to where her opponent was positioned, she won the first game with a clean score of 21-13. At the beginning of the second game, while Shiqi initially had a lead, her adversary soon began to catch up. The crowd watched with bated breath as the match turned into a battle of wits, skill and strength with many impressive moves made on the part of both players. Despite facing intense pressure, Shiqi kept up the pace, edging her opponent out point by point. Finally pulling away from her opponent towards the 20-point mark, she ended the game with a decisive hard slam, securing the 3rd match for RI girls’ team with a score of 22-20. All the players held their own with impressive footwork and technique, never faltering under pressure and showing remarkable teamwork when playing doubles, clinching their well-deserved third place title for RI.
Likewise, the Badminton Boys fought the good fight, keeping their opponents on their toes at every turn. Their first two games were closely matched — with supporters cheering them on all the way, the players put in all their effort and never once gave up or allowed frustration to get the better of them. Our boys fought hard till the very end, leaving the court with their heads held high despite their losses in the first two games.
Qi Xueqian (16S06F).
RI proceeded to turn up the heat in the next two games, beginning with the 2nd Singles game played by Chin An (15S07A) who kept the game all over the court, consistently keeping the pressure up. He made several drop shots, clearly outmatched his opponent with his skilful net play, and won the RI Boys’ team its first game of the afternoon with impressive scores of 21-8 and 21-3.
The strong play was sustained through the 2nd Doubles, with Li Zhengxi (15S06B) and Jackie Tan (15S03C) showing commendable coordination, keeping it point for point with AC from the very beginning. With three points scored by AC within the span of a minute early in the game, the tension in the hall was palpable, only heightened by AC equalizing with RI at the 14th point. A neck-and-neck game right from the very start, both pairs made many comebacks, keeping the scoreline extremely tight. With capable players on both sides, there was a great deal of skill on display, with the point gap steadily narrowing and culminating in an intense last bout. Despite the pressure, both players kept their cool, worked together, and pushed through to win their second game. (21-19, 21-19)
With the score at 2-2, it all came down to the final game between Daryl Ng (15S06S) and Ronald Yeo of AC. Arguably the most breathtaking game of the afternoon, the final Boys’ singles saw a huge variety of lobs, smashes and drop shots traded all over the court, with Daryl containing Ronald impressively well in the first set (21-11). The second set followed with both players keeping each other on their toes, the point gap closing rapidly as the minutes passed, equalizing at the 14th point. A series of deuces ensued with scores keeping both sides on knife-edge as an epic exchange ended the set, only ending when AC took a victory 24-22.
It was down to the final set to determine if RI would win the championship title. It was one which saw RI not get off to a good start, with a 1-4 scoreline in AC’s favour during the first few minutes. At this point, Daryl put down his racquet, took a bit of a walk on the court, took a drink, and then came back in every sense of the phrase. Within moments, it was evident that his form was much more on point, with a series of smashes that led to a 6-6 equalizing comeback. A few more rallies brought us to a scoreline of 8-9, and a realization that this RI-AC match was the only match in the entirety of the hall which was still on. A long rally between the players saw total silence from all within the four walls of the sports hall. A kind of magic hung in the air, as everyone watched a stunning display of agility and grace, spellbound, and the only sounds were those of the skids and hits as they played – a stark contrast to the how the RI supporters erupted in thunderous cheers when Daryl scored to equalize after that particularly intense rally. The spectators held their breath when the scoreline reached 20-14, and a final quick smash brought RI to a score of 21-14 and the championship title for the Badminton Boys
Captain Daryl Ng (15S06S).
“We really wanted this. We wanted to make it count,” as quoted by Kelly, the Girls’ captain. The afternoon truly was a triumphant battle of wits, endurance and strength from both the Boys and Girls’ teams. Perhaps best summed up by Vice Captain Zhengxi: “We came here. We did our job. Job well done.” Indeed it was. From us here at Raffles Press, well done, Badminton teams! Our sincere well – wishes for all future competitions following an incredible season this year.
“Raffles is golden, witness the moment.” – Daryl Ng, Boys’ Captain (15S06S)
Raffles Badminton 2015:
Boys: Daryl Ng (15S06S), Li Zhengxi (15S06B), Eng Chin An (15S07A), Jackie Tan (15S03C), Nigel Siew (15S97B), Ong Xing Xiang (16S06N), Zhu Bolin (16S03F), Neo Wei Ren (16S03M), Qi Xueqian (16S06F), Deo Teo (16S03S)
Girls: Kelly Tan (15S07B), Lee Shu Zhen (15A03A), Charissa Wong (15S03G0, Chin Wei Yee (16S03K), Charis Chan (16S07A), Elisabeth Yaw (16S06C), Goh Jia Ling (16S06S), Agnes Tan (16S06N), Zuo Hao Lin (16S03N)
Finals Lineup:
Boys:
1st singles: Zhu Bolin
1st doubles: Deo Teo & Qi Xueqian
2nd singles: Eng Chin An
2nd doubles: Li Zhengxi & Jackie Tan
3rd singles: Daryl Ng
Girls:
1st singles: Chin Wei Yee
1st doubles: Kelly Tan & Charissa Wong
2nd singles: Chung Shiqi
2nd doubles: Charis Chan & Elizabeth Yaw
3rd singles: Lee Shu Zhen
