Quest – The White Hare

Introduction and Synopsis

In the classic Hokkien Opera The White Hare, a mysterious rabbit reunites a mother and son after 16 years of separation—can this same fabled being reconnect us back to our cultural roots?

Upon the completion of a major renovation at Feng Ling Community Centre, a large-scale Hokkien opera was proposed to justify its funding. The centre summoned Wu, a Singaporean theatre director to recreate The White Hare, and instructed staff member Micky Lim to coordinate this project.

A member of parliament, a kindergarten teacher, a coffee shop cleaner, a junior college student, and an opera veteran are gathered together; rehearsals become a breeding ground for misunderstandings between contemporary and traditional ideologies. Opera movements lost in a forest of doubts, and frustrations rolled in as clouds of fear. Will the rabbit hop in time to rescue them out of the well of confusion to complete their performance?

Following a successful run of The Crab Flower Club in 2022, director Goh Boon Teck join hands with the same creative team to bring his new, original script to life. This production fuses traditional Hokkien opera with modern theatrical elements, peppered with colourful and familiar Singaporean and Hokkien expressions throughout the show. Audiences will also have the rare opportunity to watch Hokkien opera excerpts by veteran performer Mdm Wei Li Fen, who used to perform with the famed Sin Sai Hong, Singapore’s oldest Hokkien opera troupe that last performed together in 2014. A tender celebration of the art of Hokkien opera, Quest – The White Hare bridges the traditional and contemporary with heart and humour, leading audiences down a path of joyful discovery.

Information

Date

3 - 4 March 2023

Show Time

8pm

Venue

Esplanade Theatre

Duration

1 hour 50 minute (no intermission)

Performing Language

Chinese & Hokkien (with English subtitles)

Ticket Price

$88, $68, $48, $38

Reyn Tan
Assistant Set Designer

Reyn is a graduate of the LASALLE College of the Arts Diploma course in Theatre Production and Management.

Specialising in scenography and technical production, Reyn is a scenic and experiential designer with experience in long form television and visual merchandising. Their focus on immersive experiences and world building has driven their design style as a form of storytelling across various platforms.

TITOUDAO has been an incredible chance to be part of the collaborative effort in relating the heritage of the Wayang stage to new audiences.

Zennie Casann
Hair and Makeup Designer

Zennie Casann is the Founder of Zen Makeup Team. Zennie has been a Makeup Artist and Hairstylist for 20 years. She is highly experienced for stage, screen and TV productions as well as editorial, commercial and bridal. She is also known for her capability in makeup design and wig styling.

Zennie is the first Makeup Artist in Singapore who has worked for Luc Petit Creation for a major project – “8 Immortals” – in China. The show was broadcasted at the Oriental Movie Metropolis in Qingdao, China. She also worked for the British Theatre Playhouse’s production – “The Vortex” – starring Hollywood actress Jane Seymour.

Max Tan
Costume Designer

Max started his eponymous label MAX.TAN upon his breakout collection at the Singapore Fashion Designers Contest in 2007, where he received an award recognition. What began as creating capsule collections to meet increasing interest, then became a full-fledged debut, with the S/S 2010 collection being featured as one of the top ten collections globally on premier trend forecasting report – Stylesight.com, alongside fashion powerhouses such as Alexander McQueen and Valentino.

Over the past decade, Max has been recognized for his innovative designs that challenge fashion trends while incorporating his Asian roots. Max also lectures at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore), and enjoys partnering with theatre groups in Singapore to design costumes for their main stage productions.

MAX.TAN is represented by Boon showroom (Paris), and has started making inroads onto the international fashion design scene.

Vick Low
Sound Designer and Sound Engineer

Vick, a Singapore-based sound designer, artist, and cellist, stands at the forefront of the contemporary intersection of technology and artistic expression. Graduating from Lasalle College of the Arts in 2015 with a specialization in Music Technology, Vick has since carved a unique niche for himself in the realm of sound design, earning accolades and praise for his innovative work.

In 2019, Vick was nominated for Best Sound Design at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards for his contribution to Toy Factory Productions’ “The Watching.” This marked a significant milestone in his career, underlining his ability to weave sonic landscapes that enhance and elevate theatrical experiences.

Beyond his prowess in sound design, Vick is a classically trained cellist who seamlessly integrates his musical background into Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) productions. His journey as a performing musician has seen him collaborate with renowned entities such as The Kueh Tutus, MySuperFuture Theatrical Productions, and Sensorium Theatre in Perth. His contributions to these collaborations have added depth and richness to the artistic tapestry, demonstrating his versatility and commitment to pushing creative boundaries.

Some of his recent sound design works include Kwa Geok Choo (Toy Factory Productions), Everything For You (Nine Years Theatre), Windward Side Of The Mountain, a site-specific performance co-created by SAtheCollective, Nine Years Theatre and T.H.E Dance Company, Immortal Variables (Nine Years Theatre and Hsing Legend Youth Theatre from Taiwan) and Do Rhinos Feel Their Horns or Can They Not See Them Like How We Can’t See Our Noses (Gangguan! Theatre), which was presented at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023.

Tommy Wong
Lighting Designer

Tommy obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree in Lighting Design from Purchase College, State University of New York. He is the lecturer in Theatre & Production Management, LASALLE College of the Arts

Tommy was the production manager and the lighting designer for the Singapore Dance Theatre’s “Reminiscing the Moon” at Esplanade’s Opening Festival 2002. He designed lighting for Jackie Cheung’s Musical “ Snow, Wolf, Lake”, CCTV 4 Musical “ Song of the Light & Shadow”, Tan Dun’s Opera “ Tea” in the China National Theatre, and Contemporary Legend Theatre “King Lear”.

Tommy received the “Wen Hua Award” from the China Ministry of Culture for the set design of the dance-drama “Shenzhen Story” by the Shenzhen Song & Dance Troupe in 2000, and the best lighting design in “Hong Kong Dance Award 2001& 2008” for the Hong Kong Dance Company productions “ Yellow Earth, Yellow Earth” & “ Desperately Seeking Miss Blossom”

He worked with Toy Factory Productions on set and lighting design: “White Sail in the Blue Blue Sea”, “Titoudao”, “I have a date with Spring”, “Spirits”, “Mad Phoenix”.

Goh Boon Teck
Playwright/ Director/ Set Designer

A distinguished Singaporean theatre director, playwright and production designer, Goh Boon Teck’s theatrical arts are soulful explorations of human issues treated with contemporary sensitivity. He is the Chief Artistic Director of Singapore’s leading bilingual theatre company Toy Factory Productions Limited. Boon Teck was awarded the Elite Director Award 2014 at One Drama Awards in Shanghai. He was the Creative Director for Singapore’s National Day Parade 2007, 2008 & 2017. He was also the Creative Director for Singapore Day 2011 in Shanghai. He was conferred Singapore Youth Award in 2005 and Young Artist Award in 2001. His original play The Crab Flower Club is one of the most successful commissions for the Singapore Arts Festival. Titoudao, a play about his mother, is one of the most celebrated Singaporean plays. At the inaugural The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards in 2001, his original work Titoudao swept five out of the nine awards. He was also later awarded the Best Set Design for Fireface at the 2003 The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards. He has adapted three movie scripts into musicals – 881, Glass Anatomy and Ah Boys To Men. In 2003, Boon Teck was commissioned by Japan’s Kageboushi Theatre Company to write and direct Prism, a collaboration between six countries. His other written works are K, Deciphering The Peach Garden Oath, Long House, Posteterne, A Tinted Edge, Purple, White Soliloquy, Tintan and his Tembusu Tree, The Penis Society, The Eastern Line on my Palm and GRIND etc. His directing credits include OsEAN, I have a Date with Spring, Mama Looking for her Cat, Chessmaster, Spirits, The Morning People, The Seventh Drawer, Porcelain, Thunderstorm (Drama 1998, Opera 2005), Savage Land, Glass Anatomy, 881, Innamorati, Mergers and Acquisitions, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, White Sails over Blue Blue Sea, December Rains, Mad Phoenix, Beautiful Thing, Upstage, GRIND, Kumarajiva, Sometime Moon, A Dream Under the Southern Bough: The Beginning, Masters of Comedy, A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Reverie, 7 Sages of the Bamboo Grove and All the world is one’s stage, Quest – The White Hare, Ignite The Sun, etc.

Justin Wong
Producer

As a theatre maker who differentiates himself as a trained marketer, Justin is an accomplished theatre producer with over decades worth of experience in producing musicals, plays, and creative works for local and overseas audiences.
With his extensive experience in project management in the conference and convention industry, he is groomed to be a firm believer that every project and theatrical production he oversees deserves proper packaging and publicity.
His experience has led him to have undertaken projects in China, Korea, India, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Recent international tour projects include: Spirits (Russia), The Crab Flower Club (Beijing), K (Shanghai), Glass Anatomy (Shanghai), and Innamorati Two (Beijing).

Clement Yeo
as Ti Boon Long

Clement Yeo is an actor that believes in the power of story-telling. Juggling his acting career with academic pursuits, Clement is also a psychology student at Nanyang Technological University infusing his roles with a distinctive perspective. His recent works include Sang Sinxay (Toy Factory), Who Are You? (Migrant Writers Of Singapore), My Invisible Life (Gateway Arts) and The Monster In The Mirror (Bitesize Productions). He is convinced that the arts can educate, provoke and spread fun; and he hopes to be part of that creation in the future.

Isabella Chiam
as Diao Si

Isabella Chiam is an actor & theatre-maker.

Trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts with a Masters in Theatre, Isabella’s recent acting credits include Oo-woo (The Necessary Stage), Four Horse Road (Practice) and The Fourth Trimester (Checkpoint). She has performed in international productions across UK & Asia and was twice-nominated and won for ‘Best Ensemble’ at the Life! Theatre Awards.

Isabella also has an interest in actor training & collaborative theatre-making. She is an adjunct lecturer at NAFA & Lasalle, and her most recent creations include The Dog Who Wasn’t Useful (Dramabox) , The Last Gardener (Practice) and A Collection of Things: Serangoon (Issy x Cher). Isabella is an Associate Artist with The Theatre Practice, and a founding member of theatre collective Five Stones Theatre.

Xuan Ong
as Hong Hong

Xuan Ong is a screen and stage actor.

She graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts with a First Class Honours in Acting. She is perhaps most fondly known for her leading role as Mui Ee in Teenage Textbook: The Series (August Pictures), her debut TV Series. Her other notable screen credits include If They Can’t Be Loved (Hattie Lee) which won her a best actress award, Kisses From Death (August Pictures), Titoudao Season 2 (Oak3), Soul Detective/灵探 ( MediaCorp), One Take the Webseries (NSFTV). She most notably had her feature film debut in 7 days (七天), which was also the opening film for Singapore Chinese Film Festival 2023.

Her notable stage credits include A Dream Under The Southern Bough – Existence (SIFA, Toy Factory), I Have Something To Say (March On Children’s Festival at the Esplanade), Fika and Fishy (Patch and Punnet), CATalysts (SRT), The Singapore Trilogy (The Secondbreakfast Company). In a world so fractured, she remains unabashedly hopeful at the heart of her art-making. Xuan believes in being a fiercely unapologetic conduit for all lives whom she is tasked to represent onstage and onscreen.

Andy Yew
as Teng Lay Kiao

Andy, is a multilingual stage and screen actor/singer. He first performed in the musical West Side Story and since then he has performed for Paper Monkey Theatre in Mama Looking for he cat, Romance of Mistakes, The Legend of Nezha, True Monkey King, Yellow Chair Productions in Those Who Can’t Teach, Tahan by Teater Ekamatra, Toy Factory Productions A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Reverie, Old songs of Red Hill Market, Exile or Pursuit by InArts Production, The LKY musical by Aiwei and Singapore Theatre Company and Into the woods by Pangdemonium.

Tan Rui Shan
as Titoudao

Tan Rui Shan is an actress, choreographer, and theatre-maker. Her portfolio includes a range of noteworthy productions, but she is perhaps best known for her outstanding performance as Mrs Lee Kuan Yew in “Kwa Geok Choo” by Toy Factory Productions (dir. Goh Boon Teck). She has also starred in several other theatre productions and events, such as the Flower Fairy in 2024’s “Chingay: Blossom” (dir. Fan Dong Kai), “The Amazing Celestial Race” by Wild Rice (dir. Glen Goei) and “Three Years in the Life and Death of Land” by The Necessary Stage (dir. Haresh Sharma).

In addition to her acting career, Rui Shan’s choreography has also been featured in numerous productions, including “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Singapore Repertory Theatre, and in the upcoming “The Wizard of Oz” by Wild Rice. Rui Shan is also a co-founder of Bitesize Theatre Productions, a young and exciting theatre collective. During Covid, they created their first original musical film titled “The Monster in the Mirror Musical” in collaboration with Gateway Arts, that has reached more than 11,500 students and youths-at-risk at Singapore Girls’ Home and Trybe. Rui Shan believes in the power of theatre and hopes to continue using her craft to heal and inspire.

Alvin Chiam
as Kor Si

Alvin Chiam has been actively involved in the Singapore theatre scene for more than 25 years.

A recipient of both the NAC Grant and the NAC Arts Scholarship, Alvin took on many different roles in the theatre scene after training with the master Philippe Gaulier in Paris.

Alvin’s theatre productions, performances, and training travelled to many different places, including cities in Europe, the United Kingdom, China, Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Alvin is currently full-time lecturing at Lasalle College of the Arts.

Sharon Sum
as Teng Swee Lian

Sharon is a bilingual actor, singer and dancer who graduated with a BA(First Class Honours) degree in Musical Theatre from LASALLE College of the Arts and has since performed in various musicals and theatre productions. Some of her theatre credits include W!ld Rice’s Momotaro and the Magnificent Peach; Toy Factory’s Crab Flower Club and A Dream Under the Southern Bough: Existence; Bitesize Theatre Production’s The Monster in the Mirror Musical; Esplanade’s PLAYtime! Fatimah and her Magic Socks; Singapore Chinese Orchestra’s Infinite Island; Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Goldilocks & the Three Bears, Gretel & Hansel, Fantastic Mr Fox and Red Riding Hood; The Theatre Practice’s Liao Zhai Rocks! and Four Horse Road; Tiny Feat’s Annie Ting and the Dragon; and Dream Academy’s Detention Katong.

She has also lent her voice to productions such as Double Confirm Production’s Hossan-AH 50! and sung for The Theatre Practice’s Nursery Rhymes Project. She enjoys how theatre has allowed her to expand the human experience and looks to bring that experience to her audience.

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