The Studios Esplanade Presents
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Esplanade The Studios
Presents
14 17 Jan Esplanade
2021 Theatre
Thu Sun Stage
An
Esplanade Commission
by
I N D E X
About Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
Esplanade is Singapore’s national performing arts centre and one of the busiest arts centres in the world. Since its opening in
2002, the centre has presented more than 49,000 performances and activities, drawing an audience of 32 million patrons and
112 million visitors. This architectural icon, with its distinctive twin shells, houses world-class performance spaces
complemented by a comprehensive range of professional support services.
Esplanade’s vision is to be a performing arts centre for everyone and its programming is guided by its social mission—to
entertain, engage, educate and inspire. It seeks to enrich everyone’s lives, including seniors, youth, children and underserved
communities, through the arts. The centre’s year-long calendar of about 3,500 arts performances and activities span different
cultures, languages and genres including dance, music, theatre, and more. Of these, more than 70% are presented free for all
to enjoy. Esplanade’s visual arts programmes at its public spaces also allow visitors to view and explore art works for free.
Esplanade also brings the arts virtually to audiences in Singapore and beyond, through its diverse range of digital programmes
on Esplanade Offstage, an all-access backstage pass to the performing arts and guide to Singapore and Asian arts and culture,
with videos, podcasts, articles, quizzes and resources.
Esplanade regularly presents world-renowned companies and artists that attract international attention and add to Singapore’s
cultural vibrancy. The centre is also a popular performance home for arts groups and commercial presenters who hire its
venues to stage a wide range of programmes. These carefully curated presentations complement Esplanade’s own diverse
offerings for audiences.
Esplanade works in close partnership with local, regional and international artists to develop artistic capabilities, push artistic
boundaries and engage audiences. The centre supports the creation of artistic content by commissioning and producing new
Singapore and Asian work for the international stage. As an Approved Training Organisation (ATO) of the SkillsFuture
Singapore (SSG), Esplanade conducts a range of courses that develops technical capabilities for the industry nationally.
To bring even more of the arts to a wider audience and provide more platforms to support Singapore’s next generation of
artists, Esplanade is building a new theatre along its busy waterfront. Named Singtel Waterfront Theatre, the 550-seat venue
will open in 2022.
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is operated by The Esplanade Co Ltd (TECL), which is a not-for-profit organisation, a registered
Charity and an Institution of a Public Character. The Charity Council awarded TECL the Charity Governance Award – Special
Commendation for Clarity of Strategy in 2016, and the Charity Transparency Award for four consecutive years since 2016.
TECL receives funding support from Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and its Community Programmes are supported
by Tote Board Family, comprising Tote Board, Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club.
Visit Esplanade.com for more information.
All rights reserved. Information correct at time of print. UEN:199205206G
Board Members
Mr Lee Tzu Yang (Chairman) Mr Kenny Powar
Ms Yvonne Tham (Chief Executive Officer) Mr Sim Hwee Cher
Ms Janet Ang Mr Suhaimi Zainul Abidin
Mrs Rosa Daniel Dr Ming Tan
Prof Lily Kong Mr Yap Chee Meng
Dr Jennifer Lee Mr Andre Yeap
Mrs Clara Lim-Tan
Esplanade is a proud member of
Association of Asia Pacific
Performing Art Centres
www.aappac.com
1 Esplanade Drive, Singapore 038981 Tel: 6828 8222 Fax: 6337 3633 esplanadesingapore
www.esplanade.com EsplanadeSG
Customer Service Hotline: 6828 8377 SISTIC Hotline: 6348 5555 #esplanadesg #mydurian
THE STUDIOS 2021 – PRESS PLAY 2020 was a difficult year. The sentiment that it was unprecedented, a year of violent disruption to almost every aspect of our lives and livelihoods, has been echoed over again. We found ourselves hesitant to plan for the future; caught in a limbo state of uncertainty and having to constantly adjust, pivot, re-adjust, re-centre. And for the performing arts, 2020 was nothing short of devastating. The Studios 2020 artists, together with the larger community here in Singapore and globally, were profoundly impacted as theatres had to close and people had to stay apart. As we step into 2021, we press ‘play’ on some of the live performances that had to take a pause in 2020, as well as new ideas that have been laying fallow and waiting for the right time to emerge. A poignant and apt start to the season in January, #THEATRE by INDEX is a site-specific conversation with the Esplanade Theatre, a response to our strange times and a poetic meditation on the histories and energies that exist within this theatre space. In April, we look forward to welcoming back Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep by Margaret Leng Tan and Lost Cinema 20/20 by Brian Gothong Tan, two commissions that were meant to be a part of The Studios 2020 season. These works speak of both losing and finding, taking on greater meaning in the context that we find ourselves in. To round off the 2021 season, By Design by CAKE is a playful exploration, looking ahead to new artistic possibilities and expressions at the intersection of graphic design and performance. We are really looking forward to a coming together in 2021, to have artists playing and working in our spaces again and to welcome back an audience who has grown and experienced The Studios with us. Play connotes a sense of enjoyment, continuity, flow, creation, an interactivity and a live-ness, and an optimism for what is to come. And it is in this spirit that we go on. See you at The Studios 2021. Lynn Yang Lead Programmer The Studios 2021 #THEATRE by INDEX | An Esplanade Commission 3
ARTISTS’ STATEMENT
#THEATRE was first conceived seven years ago, shortly after INDEX completed our very
first work IN:dex, presented at the Esplanade Theatre Studio as part of the RAW platform
at The Studios 2013.
The work is an extension of a thread of work that Woan Wen had been developing
prior to IN:dex, where performance venues are engaged as-they-are in conversations
with light, reinforced with the incorporation of spatial and aural layers by Wei Ling and
Darren. The focus of the project was to find meaning in the narratives of the theatre as a
physical terrain — as a room that stands on its own as a constructed place with unique
characteristics and qualities, beyond its usual function as a performance stage.
The original proposal we submitted back then did not materialise into anything, so we
shelved it and moved on.
Fast forward to 2020, when the pandemic hit and theatres had to close, trends began to
emerge. We pondered over the situation along with the rest of the industry and started to
wonder what else can we do besides explore digital alternatives. It’s a unique time where
works made for limited audiences can gain strength.
This was when the unfulfilled project from 2013 resurfaced. It struck us that now was a
more significant and poignant time than before to create a piece that engages directly
with the physical space that we are so used to congregating in but have unexpectedly
been denied access to.
The core of the project remains, but the extraordinary shift in the context of current events
renders now a distinct time to look inwards and reconsider fundamental questions of
what theatre is—its meaning, relationships and connections within. We have no answers
to offer but we have strived to find and share with you, our audience, the essence of the
untranslatable resonance of a live performance in a tactile space that we can touch, and
which can touch us deeply in return.
Most certainly, it is not about what we can shape the space into. This work is our attempt
to see, hear, feel, touch and reveal the Esplanade Theatre as it is, stripped bare of
masquerades. It is a heartfelt conversation with the venue—its architecture, structure,
texture and energy—communicated through the language of light, sound and space.
Admittedly, the unforeseen circumstances that have shaken up the usually jam-packed
schedule of the Esplanade Theatre have afforded us this rare and luxurious window to
realise a project first dreamt up years ago. We are deeply grateful and would like to thank
Esplanade for their generous support in making this dream come true.
Theatres are special in that they are neutral sites built to be transformed in a myriad of
ways, housing a multitude of shared stories and energies. #THEATRE is our tribute to the
histories and memories of this place of assembly and is both an ode to Esplanade Theatre
as well as to theatre.
Thank you for joining us as we begin 2021. We hope this work will resonate with a time and
space within that connects you to this special place.
#THEATRE by INDEX | An Esplanade Commission 4
The Esplanade Theatre, as it is. A room on its own. A room of its own. #THEATRE is a site-specific conversation between design collective INDEX and the Esplanade Theatre. The stories and memories of the theatre space drift invisibly within the room— hanging in the air, lingering on the walls and settling in the crevices. Seeking to unravel these hidden textures, #THEATRE is a personal dialogue with the theatre itself, made with the ephemeral language of light, sound and space. Helmed by lighting designer Lim Woan Wen, alongside spatial designer Lim Wei Ling and sound artist Darren Ng, the work by these award-winning artists is an ode to the Theatre, following the unprecedented closure of performance spaces earlier in 2020. A poignant response to these strange times, #THEATRE is a poetic meditation on a place of assembly that has been isolated in a liminal pocket of solitude. Seated on the empty Esplanade Theatre stage and dwarfed by the contrast in scale, the audience will experience the quiet magnificence of the architecture, immersing themselves in a grand yet intimate journey that evokes the histories and energies that live in the theatre space. #THEATRE by INDEX | An Esplanade Commission 5
About INDEX
Founded in 2013, INDEX is a design collective comprising long-
time collaborators spatial designer Lim Wei Ling, lighting
designer Lim Woan Wen and sound artist/music composer
Darren Ng.
Finding common ground in quiet aesthetics and a
subtractive work ethos, the collective focuses on design-
centric installations and performances, using space, light
and sound to weave meanings and narratives.
The first work by the collective was the performance
installation titled IN:dex, presented at the Esplanade Theatre
Studio as part of the RAW platform at The Studios 2013.
#THEATRE by INDEX | An Esplanade Commission 6
About Lim Woan Wen (lighting designer)
A graduate from the National University of Singapore’s Theatre
Studies programme, Lim Woan Wen received the inaugural
National Arts Council Arts Professional Scholarship in 2001 and
trained at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in stage
lighting design. She has won multiple Best Lighting Design awards
at The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards and was conferred the
Young Artist Award in 2011 by the National Arts Council. Lim divides
her time between freelance projects, working with The Finger
Players as their associate lighting designer and making work as
one-third of the design collective INDEX.
About Darren Ng (sound artist & music composer)
For the past two decades, Darren Ng has designed sound and
composed music for over 250 arts productions, and has received
multiple Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards for Best Sound. As a
music composer who goes by the pseudonym sonicbrat, he
is signed to Kitchen. Label and represented internationally by
Phantom Limb and P*dis. Ng has also been invited to perform
solo or showcase his sound installations in numerous prestigious
international music and arts festivals across Europe and Asia. He
has been Associate Sound Artist and Music Composer for The
Finger Players since 2004 and is one of the co-founders of design
collective INDEX. Ng was conferred the Young Artist Award in 2012
by the National Arts Council.
About Lim Wei Ling (spatial practitioner & educator)
Lim Wei Ling explores her work in the periphery of architecture
across the fields in art, design, pedagogy and method. She is part
of the design triumvirate INDEX and a co-founder of DO Agency,
an architecture/spatial collective. Lim is currently a senior lecturer
at Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Design. In 2009, she was
selected to be a Creator-in-Residence at Tokyo Wonder Site and
has since also exhibited at the Singapore Arts Festival, London
Design Festival and Milan Design Week.
In 2007, Lim and her team won the President’s Design Award for
The Finger Players’ production 0501. Over the past decade, she
has supervised multiple award-winning works with her students
including the Red Dot Design Award. Her current exploration with
c o o p, an architecture collaboration between DO Agency and
Nanyang Polytechnic has also garnered several accolades like
Singapore Design Award (Gold), Singapore Good Design Mark
and Cities of Love Award.
#THEATRE by INDEX | An Esplanade Commission 7Moderated by Chong Tze Chien
Photo credit: Tuckys Photography
The Studios Artist Chats: #THEATRE by INDEX
20 Jan 2021
Wed, 8pm, Online
Livestream on The Studios Facebook
#THEATRE is a site-specific conversation between design collective INDEX and the Esplanade Theatre,
made with the ephemeral language of light, sound and space. Helmed by lighting designer Lim Woan
Wen—alongside spatial designer Lim Wei Ling and sound artist Darren Ng—the work is a poetic meditation
on the histories and energies that dwell within the theatre space.
In this dialogue moderated by playwright-director Chong Tze Chien, the three award-winning artists share
the inspiration behind #THEATRE, their process for developing this site-specific work and their approach
to working as a collective.
#THEATRE by INDEX | An Esplanade Commission 8Esplanade gives our heartfelt thanks
to our Esplanade partner, arts benefactor, donors and
sponsors for believing in our vision to be a performing
arts centre for everyone. They made all these possible!ˆ
3,915 activities took
place at Esplanade.
Ticketed 1,111 Non-Ticketed 2,804
1,920,590
People attended our activities at the centre.
Ticketed 311,234
Non-Ticketed 1,609,356
We believe that everyone should be able to
experience the joy of the arts, including children,
youth, seniors, migrant workers and individuals
with special needs. Our community engagement
597 14,476
Activities Participants
activities bring the arts to those in need.
ˆFigures for Esplanade’s activities from Apr 2019 to 31 Mar 2020.
Your contribution* will make a difference.
On behalf of the communities we serve, thank you!
Find out how you too can make a difference through the arts at Esplanade.
Donate at www.esplanade.com/donate
To find out more, email us at donations@esplanade.com or speak with us at 6828 8321.
Esplanade is a charity and an Institution of a Public Character. Your donation to us is
matched dollar-for-dollar by the Cultural Matching Fund. Please note that the prevailing
tax exemption scheme for donors and sponsors of Arts-Related Businesses will depend
on the qualifying criteria imposed by IRAS.With Gratitude
The continued partnership and support of our partner, arts benefactor, sponsors and donors is
critical to our work and makes it possible for us to benefit even more people. We extend our
heartfelt thanks to our partner, arts benefactor, sponsors and donors for believing in our mission
and for generously supporting us from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.
ESPLANADE PARTNER DONORS
Ming Yi Foundation Anonymous
Aberdeen Standard Investments
Charitable Foundation
ARTS BENEFACTOR Alan Tang
Patek Philippe Allen & Overy LLP
Alvin De Souza
Anastasia Tjendri-Liew
SPONSORS Andre Yeap
Allen & Overy LLP Asia Ghani Restaurant and Catering Pte Ltd
AXA Insurance Pte Ltd BinjaiTree
Bowen Enterprises Pte Ltd Bowen Enterprises Pte Ltd
Burger King Singapore Pte Ltd Brendan Hannigan
Carl Zeiss Pte Ltd Chan Boon Kheng
CLS International (1993) Pte Ltd Clifton & Mildred Tan
Club Med Services (S) Pte Ltd Creative Eateries Pte Ltd
Creative Eateries Pte Ltd Credit Suisse AG
EFG Bank Ltd D-Y Lin & Tom Donnelly
Embassy of France in Singapore Daniel Teo
Embassy of Israel in Singapore Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP
Embassy of Italy in Singapore Elisabeth Clarice Esther
Embassy of the Philippines, Singapore Gustava de Rothschild
Field Catering & Supplies Pte Ltd Farid Khan Bin Kaim Khan
(Polar Water) Foo Jien Jieng
Finnair Plc Fort Sanctuary
Fred Perry Gibbrael Isaak
High Commission of Canada in Singapore Goh Ka-Sin
Hong Leong Foundation Hong Kong Street Old Chun Kee Pte Ltd
K.N.P. Trading Pte Ltd Janet Ang
Keppel Corporation Limited Jared Phau Chong Ee
Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Jennifer Lee
Lam Soon Singapore Jerusha Tan
LCH Lockton Pte Ltd Khairiani Binte Ab. Karim
Samsung Asia Pte Ltd Kwee Gee Pte Ltd
Singapore Press Holdings Limited Lee Kok Kuan
The Travel Corporation (2011) Pte Ltd Lee Tzu Yang
ViewQwest Lee Woon Shiu
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music Lim Ewe LeongWe’re a charity with a
social mission. We believe
that the arts can transform
lives.
We believe that an experience with the
arts is special and that with your generous
Main Power Impex Co
support, more people will get a chance to
Makansutra Gluttons Bay Pte Ltd
enjoy the arts. Join us in sharing the joy of
Marian Koh the arts and help us reach more
Matahari Chicken Rice Pte Ltd communities in need.
N Subramaniam
Natarajan Varaprasad
Nicholas Lim
Ong Chu Poh
Preetha Pillai
President’s Challenge
Privato Pte Ltd
Rajesh Achanta
Ravindran s/o Sivalingam
Raymundo Yu
Rebel Owl Pte Ltd
Salim Moollan Pte Ltd
See Tho Keng Leong
Shabbir & Shahnaaz Hassanbhai
Singtel
Starlike Services Pte Ltd
Syifa’ Satay LLP
Tan Chin Tuan Foundation
Tan Pheck Hong
Teo Chen Wei Terence
Terence Lim Chee Wen
The Chesterman Family
The Silent Foundation Ltd
The Travel Corporation (2011) Pte Ltd
Toh Bao En
Victor & Michelle Sassoon
W Optics Pte Ltd
William & Mavis Tok
Yap Chee Meng
Yeow Chee Keong
Yoosuf Moiz
Yvonne ThamSnap,
Share & Win!
Catch a live performance, dine at one of our restaurants, or hang around our
Forecourt Garden. Do whatever you like! #mydurian if you post it on Instagram
and you might win a #mydurian experience, from now until 31 Mar 2021.
UEN: 199205206G Information correct at time of print.
One winner per month!
www.esplanade.com/mydurian
1 Esplanade Drive, Singapore 038981 | Customer Experience Hotline: 6828 8377
Esplanade is a charity and not-for-profit organisation. Help us bring the joy EsplanadeSingapore
www.esplanade.com EsplanadeSG
and inspiration of the arts to different communities, including the underserved. #esplanadesg #mydurianJOIN US FOR THE REST OF THE STUDIOS
1 - 24 APR 2021
Dragon Ladies Don’t Weep
BY MARGARET LENG TAN
MUSIC BY ERIK GRISWOLD
DIRECTED BY TAMARA SAULWICK
1–4 Apr 2021, Thu–Sun
Esplanade Theatre Studio
CO-COMMISSIONED BY
ESPLANADE – THEATRES ON THE BAY AND ASIA TOPA
CO-PRODUCED BY
CHAMBER MADE AND CULTURELINK SINGAPORE
Photo Credit: Pier Carthew
Lost Cinema 20/20
BY BRIAN GOTHONG TAN
14–18 Apr 2021, Wed–Sun
Esplanade Theatre Studio
AN ESPLANADE COMMISSION
By Design
BY CAKE
23 & 24 Apr 2021, Fri & Sat
Esplanade Theatre Studio
AN ESPLANADE COMMISSION
$35
$35
Limited concessions for students: $20
Limited concessions for NSFs & seniors: $25 Limited tickets available!
Limited concessions for students: $20
Limited concessions
Esplanade&Me specials: for NSFs & seniors: $25 BOOK
Limited NOW!
tickets available!
Black card: 15% savings E&Me Discover (Package of 4):
www.esplanade.com/thestudios
White card: 10% savings
Esplanade&Me specials:
10% savings with any 4 tickets purchased
BOOK NOW!
Black card: 15% savings E&Me Discover (Package of 4):
Advisory:
White Some
card: 10%mature
savingscontent – sexual references
10% savings with and coarse
any 4 ticketslanguage. Recommended for 16 www.esplanade.com/thestudios
purchased years and above.
ere will also be some strobe effects used in this performance.
Advisory: Some mature content – sexual references and coarse language. Recommended for 16 years and above.
SISTIC Hotline:
ere will 6348
also be 5555
some / School
strobe or Group
effects Booking:
used in 6828 8389 or email boxoffice@esplanade.com. Admission age: 6 & above. Ticket prices exclude
this performance.
SISTIC fees. Terms and conditions apply.
SISTIC Hotline: 6348 5555 / School or Group Booking: 6828 8389 or email boxoffice@esplanade.com. Admission age: 6 & above. Ticket prices exclude
SISTIC fees. Terms and conditions apply.Information correct at time of print.
Esplanade is a charity and not-for-profit organisation. Help us bring the joy EsplanadeSingapore
www.esplanade.com EsplanadeSG
and inspiration of the arts to different communities, including the underserved. #esplanadesg #mydurianYou can also read
