In Lear, TheatreWorks' artistic director Ong Keng Sen had a vision, one where he imagined Shakespeare's greatest tragedy as a juxtaposition of different Asian cultures, languages and art forms, both traditional and contemporary. It was an ambitious notion but Ong accomplished it. Upon its 1997 premiere in Japan, it quickly became a groundbreaking intercultural theatre production, and subsequently performed to nine cities in the Asia-Pacific and Europe.
In 2012, LEAR DREAMING distils this Shakespearean tragedy on patriarchy and succession through the purity of Japanese Noh theatre. You will enter the mind of a past king and access his memories.
The timing for such a production is apt. In our present time when giants can fall and lines of authority are redrawn, the turbulence encapsulating Lear's humanity, time's passing and transience becomes an allegory of the world today.
Conceived & Directed: Ong Keng Sen
Writer: Kang Kwon Soon, Piterman, Rahayu Supanggah, Rio Kishida
Composer: Rahayu Supanggah, Toru Yamanaka
Set Design: Justin Hill
Light Design: Scott Zielinski
Costume Design: Mitsushi Yanaihara
Graphics Design: Hanson Ho
Wig & Makeup Design: Tomoya Nakamura
Collaborators-Performers: Kang Kwon Soon, Naohiko Umewaka, Piterman, Wu Man
Musicians: Danis Sugiyanto, Gunarto, Rahayu Supanggah
Producer: Tay Tong
Production Management: Grace Low, Lisa Porter
Technical Management: Fazil Sulaiman
Stage Management: Lisa Porter, Samantha Watson
Staging: Danny Hones
Video: Christopher Wong, Low Wee Cheng
Master Electrician: Jake Degroot
Sound Engineer: Shah Tahir
Assistant to Composer: Tomohisa Ishikawa
Assistant to Costume Designer: Mika Takise
Surtitle Operator: Lyra Tan
Lasers: Alan Tam, Ronnie Wee
Translators: Krystal Yoon, Rizky Sasono, Seong Sook Choi, Ugoran Prasad
Crew:
Alberta Wileo
Hidhayat Aziz
Huang Xiang Bin
Ian Tan
M Noorazwan Azmi
M Sofian
Ronnie Wee
Stevie Kwek
(Source: National Arts Council Programme)