Watch plays and musicals from Wild Rice, Pangdemonium and other local theatre groups online

[UPDATED, April 29]:

With extension and tightening of circuit breaker measures, Checkpoint Theatre has not been able to proceed with the initial planned filming for The Heart Comes to Mind. Updates for the show will be announced on their social media when available. 

---

Theatre lovers rejoice! Though things seem a bit bleak with the extension of circuit breaker and the closure of shops selling creature comforts that we are used to having, several local theatre groups have decided to adapt with the times —and go online to keep us engaged and entertained from the comfort of our home.

Pangdemonium

The local theatre group will be streaming a recording of their 2016 production Falling. The play explores the dynamic and complicated reality of an autistic young man and was written by Deanna Jent, who drew from her personal experience of raising a son with severe autism.

The play was adapted and set in Singapore by Pangdemonium and will be available for free on Vimeo from April 24 at 8pm to April 26 at 11.59pm. Do note that Falling was given an advisory (some violent content) rating.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1dl5670L8M[/embed]

ALSO READ: Things to do this #StayHome weekend: Make a 'McBreakfast', catch S'porean artists perform & more

Wild Rice

To continue to keep engaged with audiences during this period of social distancing, the theatre company has launched Wild@Home that comprises a virtual theatre as well as director residency programmes and virtual playwriting workshops.

Their virtual theatre line-up includes three of their most well-received plays, with each one available on YouTube for a week each.

Emily of Emerald Hill tells the story of a Peranakan woman, Emily Gan who evolves from a fearful young bride into a strong-willed matriarch, and was first staged in 1984, with multiple restagings taking place over the years. The company will be streaming the 2019 version of the production on YouTube from April 24 at 7.30pm to April 30 at 9pm.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESV1XNhkjTE&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

Supervision examines the complicated dynamics of love, family and privacy in Singapore where foreign workers have become our primary care-givers through the tale of a newly wheelchair-bound man whose daughter hires a young Indonesian domestic worker to care for him and how their relationship evolves. The play will be streamed from May 1 at 7.30pm to May 7 at 9pm. Note that the play was given an advisory (some mature content) rating.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfccndHnI1w&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

Monkey Goes West is a fun pantomime adaption of the classic Chinese tale, Journey to the West. Follow Ah Tang and his companions Wukong, Pigsy and Sandy as they travel from Haw Par Villa to Jurong West and encounter and overcome villains like the man-eating Princess Iron Fan and the mischievous, fire-breathing Red Boy. The 2016 version of the production will be on YouTube from May 8 at 7.30pm to 14 May at 9pm.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K669r7RaGU8[/embed]

Wild Rice has prepared free downloadable educational packs with in-depth articles and activities for students and children. They will also be hosting a live talkback every Thursday at 9pm on YouTube.

The theatre group will also continue commissioning new works for the Studio Theatre.

The Necessary Stage

Believing that the online theatre experience should still be done as a community, the group organised an online watch party on April 16 for their play, Those Who Can't Teach. The play looks at the lives of teachers and students in school when a boy and his classmates are caught drinking, smoking and making a ruckus. The play is available online at Vimeo till April 30, and the theatre company is encouraging the public to organise their own watch parties too.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq-UqS7aRSM[/embed]

They are also conducting an online poll to decide what should be the next play they should make available, and the options feature memorable Malay Muslim characters in celebration of the upcoming Hari Raya Puasa celebrations.

Nine Years Theatre

The theatre troupe launched their #stayhomewiththearts initiative on April 9, placing recorded versions of their plays on YouTube every week. Currently, Lear is Dead, a reimaingation of Shakespeare's King Lear that explores power, legacy, wisdom, pride and madness, is available on YouTube until April 29, 11.59pm.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/NineYearsTheatre/posts/1558692024278220?__xts__[0]=68.ARDo_zurjzLGyzEhZr7Igbbhib2Giav3o3Udaa_xL99SigeBu[/embed]

ALSO READ: Sweat it out: Online fitness workouts and classes to try while you're hunkered down at home

Next in their line up is FAUST/US, an adaptation of the German legend Faust, which follows an ageing academic who sells his soul in exchange for passion and adventure, and explores the human soul's constant hankering for something more than what we have achieved. It will be available on YouTube from April 30 to May 6.

Click here for AsiaOne's Circuit Breaker Survival Guide (CBSG).

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

kailun@asiaone.com