[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/the-chair-2004-singapore-play-staged-in-cambridge-slated-for-edinburgh-fringe\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/the-chair-2004-singapore-play-staged-in-cambridge-slated-for-edinburgh-fringe\/","headline":"The Chair, 2004 Singapore play staged in Cambridge, slated for Edinburgh Fringe","name":"The Chair, 2004 Singapore play staged in Cambridge, slated for Edinburgh Fringe","description":"The Chair, a Singapore play written in 2004 by local poet and playwright Desmond Sim, may be making its debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023. This, after it played to sold out houses at Cambridge University and to rave reviews. The Tab, a site covering youth culture and student culture, and run by […]","datePublished":"2022-09-23","dateModified":"2025-05-07","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/#Person","name":"Judith Tan","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/","identifier":57,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feature-Image-Template-2022-09-22T102608091-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Feature-Image-Template-2022-09-22T102608091-1.jpg","height":900,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/the-chair-2004-singapore-play-staged-in-cambridge-slated-for-edinburgh-fringe\/","about":["Entertainment","International","Local","Singapore"],"wordCount":1881,"keywords":["Adrian Pang","blind","Cambridge University","Desmond Sim","Edinburgh Festival Fringe","Jasmin Thien","pangdemonium","Peranakan","Playwright","Southeast Asia","The Chair","voice"],"articleBody":"The Chair, a Singapore play written in 2004 by local poet and playwright Desmond Sim, may be making its debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023.This, after it played to sold out houses at Cambridge University and to rave reviews. The Tab, a site covering youth culture and student culture, and run by journalists, called the production \u201cenlightening and heartfelt\u201d, and \u201cexplores what it means to be Singaporean\u201d.The Tab, which has three million readers and thousands of student reporters, says the entire production is also built around \u201ca strikingly simple, yet genius setup: the all-seeing chair takes centre stage, and red ribbons spool out from all corners of the darkened stage to attach themselves to the chair\u201d.\u00a0In an email to the playwright, blind actor and performer Jasmin Thien wrote, \u201cYou might be pleased to know that it was the first production in Cambridge with a fully Southeast Asian cast, and it did really well both with reviews and ticket sales. I have been in over 20 productions during my time at Cambridge and I can confidently say that The Chair was my absolute favourite show that I\u2019ve done, so thank you. It made me so proud to be Chinese and Southeast Asian, and I found so much of the script relatable and heartwarming even though I am not from Singapore myself.\u201dBlind actor and performer Jasmin Thien, who played multiple roles in The Chair, wrote to playwright Desmond Sim, asking permission to stage it again at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023. (Photo source: Jasmin Thien\/Facebook)Thien played multi-roles, including Mrs Lim and Evelyn, in the play.The Peranakan heritageThe Chair, written by Sim in 2004, was his critique of the prejudicial emphasis of Peranakan antiques and heritage towards monetary values. Constantly at the centre of the play is, of course, a chair, serving as the link to events that happened in different places and at different times.\u00a0It traces the transition of a Singapore family from immigrant labourers to educated businessmen and women; where the members of the family gain affluence, survive a world war, and fight among themselves, with a chair witnessing it all.\u00a0Speaking to TheHomeGround Asia through email, director of the Cambridge University production Xander Pang says he was originally introduced to The Chair when reading it as part of Sim\u2019s collection of student plays, and \u201cwas immediately struck by not only the depth of storytelling, layering of cultural and historical motifs across the text\u201d.\u00a0Director of the Cambridge University production Xander Pang wanted to showcase a slice of his life as authentically as possible by staging a piece of theatre that is unapologetically Singaporean. (Photo source: TODAY)\u201cWhen I was deciding to put on a show in Cambridge, my intention was always to showcase a piece of theatre that was centred around specific cultural and historical storytelling close to my heart. Having lived in Singapore my whole life, I wanted to showcase a slice of my life as authentically as possible,\u201d he says.\u00a0It was no wonder that when he was looking for a script, he \u201cfocused very heavily on finding a piece of theatre that was as unapologetically Singaporean as possible, including accents, language and content\u201d.\u00a0\u201cWith The Chair, the script possesses all of that. I feel that local theatre sometimes shies away from using the Singaporean accent. I wanted to do the opposite by producing a piece of theatre for the audiences that the show itself was representing. Not only does the play showcase the nuances of Singaporean behaviour, but it also tells the Singaporean story, making it a perfect way for me to fully present a slice of Singapore\u2019s culture,\u201d he says.\u201cThrough generations of Singaporeans, the show not only tells us about the history of the country, but also how family ties are formed and maintained within the Peranakan side of our society. Singapore and Cambridge are two very different places. My goal was to highlight this, and force audiences to feel as though they were stepping into someone else\u2019s world, allowing them to appreciate it, even if they did not fully understand it,\u201d Pang adds.\u00a0The challenges: Doing the script justice, not pandering to the local audienceIt is not the first time a tertiary institution has staged The Chair. The National University of Singapore (NUS) staged it in 2015 as the launching pad and inspiration for original short plays written by NUS undergraduates from scripts created in a playwriting workshop by Sim.\u00a0The Chair was staged in 2015 by NUS as the launching pad and inspiration for original short plays written by its undergraduates after playwriting workshop conducted by Desmond Sim.\u00a0(Photo source: NUS)But it has, for the first time, been staged by a university abroad.Pang says when he asked for Sim\u2019s permission to stage his play, Sim not only responded immediately, but was \u201cextremely forthcoming with helping us acquire the scripts to get the show produced\u201d. \u201cWith him being so helpful in allowing us to do the show, I was more nervous about doing the script justice,\u201d he adds.Another challenge that faced the cast and crew was making sure that the production \u201cnever once pandered to the local audiences\u201d. The team also made sure that it never translated any dialogue, and even went to the extent of adding local phrases and expressions if they seemed natural to cast when performing.\u00a0\u201cThis was challenging, as it is often tempting when producing an international piece to make it more \u201cunderstandable\u201d for local audiences. However, the goal was always to present Singapore in its most raw and natural form, to properly highlight its beauty and allow audiences a sense of authenticity,\u201d Pang says.Apart from the challenges of a minimalist production design to focus on the storytelling, Pang also cut down the number of required actors for the show to just four, which was less than what is stated in the script.\u00a0\u201cThis meant that my actors were working extremely hard to engage the audiences, and making the magic of the text come out naturally. My direction for the cast was also very focused on maintaining an intensity and energy, really allowing them to stand out in their performances,\u201d he says.Interestingly, The Chair was one of the least challenging productions for Thien \u201cin terms of navigating my blindness\u201d. She has played sighted characters and did not use her cane on stage.\u00a0\u201cI rarely find that my blindness poses much of a challenge except for perhaps productions where there is an abundance of sets and props to navigate around without the aid of my cane. Because The Chair had such a minimal set, that is, a lone chair in the centre of the stage, I did not have any trouble performing the show at all,\u201d she says.The Chair played to sold out houses at Cambridge University and to rave reviews. The Tab called it \u201ca strikingly simple, yet genius setup: the all-seeing chair takes centre stage, and red ribbons spool out from all corners of the darkened stage to attach themselves to the chair\u201d. (Photo source: The Tab)Responding to the casting call for The Chair, Thien was excited as it was the first time she had seen \u201ca move to bring Southeast Asian voices to the Cambridge student theatre scene.\u00a0\u201cThere has been a growing hunger for diverse voices in theatre, and especially in Cambridge student theatre which has always been extremely white, and I wanted to be part of a production showing the unique experiences and stories of this,\u201d she says.For Thien, one of the biggest challenges as a cast was deciding how to stage the scene about the Japanese invasion, particularly the part where Evelyn was sexually assaulted by a Japanese officer.\u00a0\u201cWe ran the risk of minimising the sheer trauma of an experience which we knew many of our ancestors had faced. At the same time, over-playing it based on our conjectures of what it could have been while we have not personally experienced anything remotely similar felt like it would be insensitive to everything they had survived. Finally, we chose to make the scene as minimalistic as possible. That is, having Evelyn sit alone on the chair narrating the story. By stripping all the bells and whistles and letting the words shine through, we felt that was the best way to shed light on the very human experiences of loss, suffering and trauma,\u201d she tells TheHomeGround Asia.Pang says the local audience really enjoyed being immersed in a culture that was very different from their own. \u201cWhile they might not have understood the nuances of the language, they could appreciate the story and storytelling, and also appeared to enjoy not being able to fully understand another person’s culture. Not grasping the finer details seemed to actually improve the experience for them, as it allowed them to feel more like they were engaging in something new, different and exciting,\u201d he says.\u00a0The Singaporean audiences were also receptive to watching a piece of theatre that reminded them of home. \u201cWith such strong efforts from the production team and cast as a whole to make the show as authentic as possible, I think Singaporeans really appreciated being in an environment that felt like home. As a director, it was quite heartening to see Singaporeans not only coming in groups to watch the show, but also bringing their friends from other cultures to expose them to a piece of home. I, for one, brought many friends from outside of Singapore as a way to show them a bit about my culture. In a way that is far better than any stories I could tell,\u201d he adds.\u00a0Giving The Chair a seat at the Edinburgh Festival FringeIt is no wonder both Pang and Thien feel it is long overdue to have a play from Southeast Asia, let alone Singapore, staged at a celebrated international arts festival as the Edinburgh Festival.\u201cMost people don\u2019t even remember that Southeast Asia exists when they talk about Asia. I think an unapologetically Southeast Asian play about Southeast Asian experiences is long overdue at a place of such outstanding reputation as the Edinburgh Fringe. I know that The Chair would do really well at the Fringe. Des (Sim) has written such an incredible script. It has definitely changed my life and made me proud of who I am and the people I\u2019ve descended from. As for Des coming to see it in Edinburgh, that would be the absolute dream,\u201d Thien says.In her email to Sim, she wrote, \u201cI would very much love to take The Chair to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next August 2023. I was involved with a show at Fringe this year and I feel it is high time that we brought Southeast Asian stories and representation to the festival. There is an increasing demand for new voices in the industry.\u201dChuffed by her note asking permission to put the production at the festival fringe next year, Sim posted the full email on his Facebook wall with the comment, \u201cOf course, I said YES!\u201dRELATED: New play examines the importance of being Kwa Geok ChooJoin the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Chair, 2004 Singapore play staged in Cambridge, slated for Edinburgh Fringe","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/the-chair-2004-singapore-play-staged-in-cambridge-slated-for-edinburgh-fringe\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]