Hot on the heels of the New York Times bestseller and Singapore Literature Prize-winning The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, cartoonist Sonny Liew creates an all-new graphic novel for the stage. Using the superhero genre as a springboard to tell a story about ageing and mortality, the book for the stage looks to examine the limits of even superhuman abilities when confronted with the complex issues of greying societies, or when faced with the pain of losing loved ones to the ravages of time.
While Liew embarks on the creation of his new narrative, theatre-maker Edith Podesta brings her incredible, creative sensibilities to collaborate with him - bringing to life the art of the graphic novel in a unique production that melds the languages of comics and theatre, of two-dimensional drawings and live performance, of word balloons and spoken words.
Central to Becoming Graphic will be the concept of the ‘voicer’, who animates and breathes life into the characters of Liew’s imagination as his pen draws a nuanced and layered story of the complex issues we face with ageing and mortality.
Comic Artist: Sonny Liew
Director: Edith Podesta
Cast: Koh Wan Ching, Crispian Chan, Chng Xin Xuan, Hu Yuheng, Nathaniel Tan
Multimedia Designer: Brian Gothong Tan
Lighting Designer: Adrian Tan
Sound Designer: Teo Wee Boon
Costume Designer: David Lee
Technical Manager: Steve Kwek
Production & Stage Manager: Mirabel Neo
Assistant Stage Manager: Nadia Binte Noordin
Assistant Sound Designer: Douglas Dharan
(Source: Arts House Limited Programme)