Wild Rice enters the new season with a truly epic line-up
It’s a brand new year. And as we flip the page to explore another year of growth and achievements, we’re also looking forward to a brand new season of exciting entertainment performances. Kicking the year off is Wild Rice, one of Singapore’s leading professional theatre companies, most known for their vibrant and colourful interpretations. Heading into this season, fans and theatre aficionados will be beyond thrilled with the announcement of their first three shows.
There’s J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, the heart-wrenching Butterfly Lovers of Chinese folklore, and the return of Wild Rice’s award-winning epic HOTEL.
A classic psychological thriller and one of Priestley’s best-known works, An Inspector Calls takes his timeless murder mystery to the stage. A thought-provoking piece injected with Glen Goei’s astute direction, be prepared for an evening of wonder and fascination as we confront morality, class, and conscience with a seemingly happy, perfectly normal middle-class family.
Then there’s The Butterfly Lovers, a highly-anticipated piece that’ll definitely be on the must-watch list for fans of classic Asian folklore and culture. Putting a fresh spin on the familiar tale of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, The Butterfly Lovers is the world’s first English-language opera adaptation of the story. Coming to Singapore after a successful and critically acclaimed world premiere in Australia last year, the production is brought to life with the flair and vision of Ivan Heng, Wild Rice’s Founding Artistic Director, a sensational score by Richard Mills, Artistic Director of Australia’s Victorian Opera, and a moving libretto by Joel Tan.
The third on the line-up is a fully homegrown original, written by Alfian Sa’at and Marcia Vanderstraaten, and directed by Ivan Heng and Glen Goei. HOTEL is a truly Singaporean epic filled with the sights and sounds found on our bustling island. Sweeping the Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards for Best Direction, Best Original Script, Best Ensemble, and the coveted Production of the Year when it was first staged at the Singapore International Festival of Arts in 2015, HOTEL then went on to put up a headlining performance at the OzAsia Festival in Adelaide, and is finally back in Singapore. Spanning over five hours and featuring nine languages, the epic brings us through a century of social and political change as we watch the old and new worlds collide.
Find out more about the exciting new season on Wild Rice’s website here.