Offending the Audience (2017)

10 February 2017 – 12 February 2017 @ Theatre Studio, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

Synopsis

You will see no play.

Four nameless performers, in a space without boundaries. No plot, no love nor sorrow, no more roller coaster narrative. And the stage does not represent another place. What then shall happen in theatre? When all pretence is stripped, is everything then genuine?

In 1966, Austrian playwright Peter Handke rose to prominence with Offending the Audience, a play that challenged perceptions of theatre and rocked the establishment of the day.

Five decades later, this special Huayi commission sees Young Artist Award recipient Liu Xiaoyi leading a creative team of the most outstanding Singaporean theatre artists—Nelson Chia, Oliver Chong, Li Xie, Ang Gey Pin, Darren Ng and Lim Woan Wen—to devise and create an original adaptation through relentless experimentation and dialogue. Pushing new boundaries in theatre, they rework the anti-theatre classic for a modern audience.

Creative

Concept and Direction: Liu Xiaoyi
Original Script: Peter Handke
Adaptation: Liu Xiaoyi and Cast

Cast: Ang Gey Pin, Nelson Chia, Oliver Chong, Li Xie

Sound Artist and Music Composer: Darren Ng
Lighting Artist: Lim Woan Wen 
Rehearsal Archival and Research: Tung Ka Wai

Production

Producer: Chong Woon Yong
Production and Stage Manager: Celestine Wong
Assistant Stage Manager: Marilyn Ang
Surtitles Translator and Operator: Tung Ka Wai

Front of House Exhibition Design: Huang Suhuai
Front of House Exhibition Text: Tung Ka Wai
Graphic Designer: Ric Liu
Photography: The Pond

(Source: Emergency Stairs Website)


other stagings


credits

Liu Xiaoyi
Director, Conceptualizer, Adaptation
Peter Handke
Playwright
Ang Gey Pin
Adaptation, Cast
Nelson Chia
Adaptation, Cast
Oliver Chong
Adaptation, Cast
Li Xie
Adaptation, Cast
Darren Ng
Sound Artist, Music Composer
Lim Woan Wen
Lighting Artist

artefacts

Offending the Audience (2017), Review
Offending the Audience After 40 minutes, no actor has stepped onstage. Several minutes have passed since the actors were last heard over the speaker system. After a prolonged silence, an audience member crosses the stage floor. There is tension in the air as she crosses the stage. When she sits down next to her friend at the far wall, the audience lets out an uneasy laugh. Nobody knew if she was a performer or an audience member. This brief, and perhaps unintended, moment encapsulates the special quality
Myle Yan Tay
Reviewed: 12 February 2017