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Singapore, March, 11, 2010 Home-grown drama group Action Theatre is aiming to cater to every taste with its 10-day Makan Drama Festival starting next week. The main course every evening from March 18 to 28 will be a ticketed double bill of plays at the group’s home base of 42 Waterloo Street. The admission price will entitle the audience to free appetisers and dessert – namely, various acts including stand-up comedy and poetry readings outdoors. All revolve around Singaporeans’ favourite topic – food. The group’s artistic director Ekachai Uekrongtham, 45, explains how he devised the idea for “a buffet spread of new and exciting Singapore plays”. “We have always been developing new works so I thought, this time, let’s give it a theme. What is something that artists and the audience can be passionate about? Food came to mind easily.” However, he cautions against assuming that the shows are mere “eating exercises”. The idea, he says, is to take a theme that would act as a “springboard” for the writers and cast to explore different issues. The meat of the festival is provided by two plays by noted local playwrights: Perfecting Pratas by Desmond Sim and Cravings by Chong Tze Chien. The first is about a Chinese-Indian youth learning to make pratas to impress his girlfriend, while the second showcases the yearnings of a young husband hoping to spend a romantic evening with his wife after the birth of their first child. Both will be directed by Samantha Scott-Blackhall, 31, who is Action Theatre’s resident director. To whet the audience’s appetite before the theatrical main course, there will be a stand-up comedy act, followed by a performance of food-themed poems directed by veteran theatre practitioner Christina Sergeant and curated by poet Yong Shu Hoong. Dessert to round off the meal will come in the form of excerpts from a musical version of Hokkien Mee, the play about marrying into riches penned by Ovidia Yu, and a devised play, Eat Here Or Ta Pao, created from the experiences of actors who turned up for open auditions in January. Both are also directed by Scott-Blackhall. Weekends will see additional dishes on the menu, including dramatised readings of new plays. The full menu, says Ekachai, is satisfyingly tasty thanks to the blend of established writers such as Sim and Chong, and the new voices. Sadly, for two people involved in a drama festival all about food, neither Ekachai nor Scott-Blackhall have much time at the moment to savour their meals. The theatre director is finding time tight as she juggles directing the double bill and most of the outdoor supporting acts. Whenever she gets a short break, she runs across the road for a char siew pau or other quick food fix. She says: “Food to me is a happy distraction. Food to me is time off, it makes me happy because I am not doing anything else but eating.” Ekachai, on the other hand, is denying himself his favourite treats so he will finish his work faster. “Cravings give me good motivation. I will not eat what I like until I finish a certain amount of work.” If this festival “goes down well”, he will consider making the Makan Drama Festival a biennial festival. “Annual may be too jelak (Malay for a sense of surfeit),” he jokes. He adds: “Then again, Singaporeans never have enough of food. Let’s see whether this goes down well.” MAKAN DRAMA FESTIVAL Where: 42 Waterloo Street
When: March 18 to 28, 7.10pm daily (except Monday) and 3pm on weekends
Admission: $35, $40, $45 from Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to sistic.com.sg)
