Working with Artists
Thillana Mohana, by Priyalatha Arun PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 16 June 2009

World-in-Theatre and Singapore Indian Association present

Thillana Mohana

by Priyalatha Arun

Concept and Choreography - Priyalatha Arun

Director- Yeo Hon Beng

Lyrics - Elavazhagan Murugan

Music Composition and Vocal - R.Gomathinayagam (SIFAS)

Nattuvangum - Saroopa Das (SIFAS)

Mridangum - S. Devarajan

Violin - K.Sivaraman (SIFA)

Temple Musicians - Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

Narrators - Felin Jayatissa & Kamini Ramachandran

Date: 9 July 2009

Time: 8pm

Venue: Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel

Tickets: $25 and $30

$25 (for tickets worth $30) ~ Concession (seniors, students and children)

Please be informed that we have ceased to accept online booking of tickets. If you want to purchase tickets to the show, please arrive at Jubilee Hall, 3rd floor of Raffles Hotel 45 minutes before the performance to make payment and collect your tickets. Most of $32-tickets have been sold. Tickets to $25-category are still available. Please take note that a $2 administrative fee will be added to the ticket prices.

For those who have purchased, or made reservations to, the tickets, please come at least 30 minutes before the performance to collect your tickets. We only accept cash payments. There is no Nets, debit card, and credit facility at the front-of-house. We also strongly encourage patrons to come early to the event, for the dance performance will start punctually at 8pm. Late-comers will only be allowed into the theatre at suitable times not disruptive to the performance. Decisions will be made by the Front-of-House manager.

Should you have any queries, feel free to email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

SMS a ticket: 9.085.2904

The Story

The tumultuous but beautiful story of Thillana Mohana is going to play on the local stage once again; this time round, with a new theatrical interpretation by renowned Bharatha Natyam dancer Priyalatha Arun and Little Red Shop Associate Artistic Director Yeo Hon Beng.

In order to stretch the emotional impact that the story has had on thousands of Indians in the world - making it a timeless tale to tell - it is also a chance to see how the fine Indian dance art of Bharatha Natyam and western theatrical direction tell this story using a single dance body on stage. This challenging dance presentation to be held in Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel is a bold theatrical experiment attempting to break conventions and build new theatrical vocabularies.

Audiences from far afield as Moscow and Adelaide, and from metropolises like London and Seoul have been treated to the virtuosity of Priya's performances. She has graced the covers of magazines and has been the subject of television documentaries. Priya is a Bharatha Natyam graduate from the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society. She is also a founding member of World-in-Theatre and has acted in its production of Ramayana, The Royal Hunt of The Sun, The Apparatus and Two Women For One Ghost. Priya also performed in Maya Dance Theatre's Bophana, a contemporary dance theatre production directed by Richard Chua (also artistic director of Little Red Shop, a local theatre society that devotes itself to developing independent artists).

Director Yeo Hon Beng is no stranger to dance, having light-designed numerous dance productions on local stages. A theatre director in his own right, he has worked on countless theatre productions training some of the most promising young theatre artists in the local scene today.

The story Thillana Mohana is about two great artists, one a reputed Nadaswaram player Shanmugasundaram, and Mohana, a renowned Bharatnatyam dancer. In their very first meeting they both give their hearts to each other. But Mohana's avaricious mother disapproves of this relationship, as Shanmugam's economic status is far below her expectations. She tries every trick in the book with the help of her associates to separate the two and make Mohana settle with any wealthy person. Both Shanmugam and Mohana face many hardships and obstacles. Many misunderstandings are created between them by people with vested interests. Every hardship is endured by them, and they prove that true love always triumphs.

To present this story in a contemporary society like Singapore is crucial. For urban life has slowly devoured humanity and love between people, let alone to have faith in true love among people.

An Indian dance production not to be missed. Tickets are available on Little Red Shop website at http://www.littleredshop.org. More information on the production is attached. Patrons could also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.


In a recent interview with Singapore Mediacorp Radio's 938 Live, Artistic Director Richard Chua and Priyalatha Arun responded enthusiatically to radio presenters Stanley Leong and Pamela Ho's questions. Here are some excerpts of the interview:

On the proportion between dance and theatre in the production, Priyalatha Arun emphasied that it was her intention to take Indian dance out of the temple and place it on a modern stage.

What's in our version of Thillana Mohana?

What's director Yeo Hon Beng's role in Thillana Mohana?

What will the narrators be doing?

Artistic Director Richard Chua's candid take on Chinese working on Indian dances.

The difference in the time and space in the production. What's the voice?

Priyalatha's talks about a non-linear story.

Little Red Shop loves theatre! Richard Chua goes on and on, with Pamela Ho.

After listening to all the excerpts, what are you waiting for?



One complimentary ticket will be given to the teacher of the school for every 20 tickets ordered.

School tickets are priced at a special rate of $20 per ticket per student. Special offer only available for bulk bookings.

Ticket Delivery Charges

No charge, pick up at performance venue

Registered mail @ S$3.00 ( 1 - 30 tickets purchased )

Courier by hand @ S$15.00 ( 31 tickets purchased & above )

Administration Fee - $2.00 per ticket

Terms & Conditions of Ticket Sales

If you do not hear from us 2 days after you have submitted the booking form, please email us to confirm your booking.

STRICTLY no cancellation, refund or exchange of tickets will be made under any circumstances

Post-Performance Discussions

A post-performance discussion may be arranged with the director for bookings of at least 20 students
Last Updated ( Thursday, 09 July 2009 )
 
Rehearsing A Good Cause PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 20 May 2009

After losing our arts housing bid with the NAC, Little Red Shop, like a stray cat looking for a home, has been spending a lot of time seeking a suitable rehearsal venue for our artists. Fortunately enough, earlier this month, we made an arrangement with The Little Arts Academy to rent their rehearsal room, with a common understanding that money paid for the use of the room will be channeled to send an under-privileged child through an arts course organised by The Little Arts Academy.

For we see many similarities between under-privileged kids wanting to do art, but lack the opportunities to do so, and independent artists with limited access to many different forms of resources in Singapore; most of these resources unfortunately are not public goods, and hence are not readily available.

In its attempt to close this gap, Little Red Shop seeks to inculcate a theatre society, where independent artists are encouraged to bundle together to build capacities and share resources. While it faces great difficulties developing its works alone, the campaign, Rehearsing A Good Cause, is another attempt by the theatre society to get more donation monies for its ambitions. In a larger sense, this campaign is a meaningful initiative aimed at artistic development in Singapore, for both young and mature artists.

Centre Manager Adelina Ong was enthusiastic on this collaboration:

"The Little Arts Academy grew out from a need to provide more systematic arts training and a dedicated creative learning space for The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BT BAF) beneficiaries and it is indeed encouraging to receive support from the arts community, especially Little Red Shop's effort in wanting to help these children to develop artistic abilities. This donation through Little Red Shop will help to support the education of more children from low-income families through The Little Arts Academy's programmes.

It offers fully subsidised training in dance, music, theatre and visual arts to children from financially disadvantaged families through BT BAF, and it would be impossible to accomplish this without support from the arts community. We are all part of an ecosystem that constantly draws on one another for support and inspiration in order to produce art that inspires and makes a difference to the world we live in.

The Little Arts Academy draws inspiration and knowledge from the arts community, thanks to the gifts of time and expertise through our teachers and in time, we hope that our students will grow up to become innovative, compassionate and creative individuals who will contribute to the arts community as artists, art supporters/donors and audiences who love and understand how the arts enrich our lives."

Rehearsing A Good Cause campaign is a chance for the public and arts enthusiasts to put their dollars into good use. This is a commitment Little Red Shop will make to our donors: Your dollars will be put to good use, not just for Little Red Shop, but also to develop another young prospective artist in Singapore. In addition Little Red Shop will also make donation figures public through our website. We will also track the development of the young artist under The Little Arts Academy's care. Rehearsal cost is pegged at $28 per rehearsal hour.

Art-making shouldn't be stopped in the face of adversities, least of all due to a lack of money in the arts. It shouldn't also be hindered by limited state support. For in diversity we see hope, in this case: Little Arts Academy's out-stretched hands to Little Red Shop in pushing us further toward building excellence in art-making.

We strongly urge friends of The Little Arts Academy and Little Red Shop to come together to make a difference in their lives. Make a small donation of $28 per hour today. All you need to do is to choose the number of hours you would like to support by entering the number of hours in the quantity box after you have clicked on the purchase button:

Last Updated ( Friday, 07 August 2009 )
 
Macbeth, directed by Shelly Quick, presented by World-In-Theatre PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 02 July 2008
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 02 July 2008 )
Read more...
 
Benny Lim, Artistic Director, The Fun Stage (Singapore) and Eleanor Clapham PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 25 April 2008

Eleanor Clapham (Australia)                               Benny Lim (Singapore)

Courtesy of http://www.eleanorclapham.com    Courtesy of The Fun Stage (http://www.thefunstage.org )

I have worked with Benny Lim for a couple of years now. We met during Ghost Opera, an independent production directed by Adrian Tan. We were also colleagues in The Fun Stage - the presenting company of Bui Xuan Phai 2008. Our friendship has come to a full circle; from the time we met, became colleagues and now as collaborators. This time, we have the pleasure to make a new friend - Eleanor Clapham, a renowned Cheo Opera artist in Vietnam and Australia. Do check out our 938 Live interview in the living room.

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Radio Interview in "The Living Room" on 938LIVE on 28th April 2008, hosted by Stanley Leong & Esther Ng. For more information, please visit www.938LIVE.sg

 

Bui Xuan Phai (1920-1988) is widely revered as one of the greatest Vietnamese painters. Disregarded by his contemporaries in his lifetime, he died of poverty in 1988, gaining recognition only after his death. Phai was one of the few Vietnamese artists who kept a meticulous archive of materials for his works, and maintained a private diary of his thoughts. This monologue, set in the period of 1945 to 1988 in Hanoi and based closely on Phai’s diary, explores the artist’s life and his philosophies in the period of transition and upheaval in the country. The play also integrates scenes on Cheo Theatre, the traditional Vietnamese satirical form of opera.

DATE
1-3 May 2008 Thu - Fri, 8:00PM
Sat, 3:00Pm & 8:00PM

DURATION
Approx 80 Mins

VENUE
Singapore Art Museum

TICKET PRICE (Exclude Booking Fee)
Standard - S$26

Please add to above price $3 Booking Fee for tickets above $20 and $1 Booking Fee for tickets $20 and below. Charges include GST where applicable.

For Little Red Shop members, please kindly show your membership receipt at Front of House for a special price of $15! To become a member of Little Red Shop, please click here .  

 
Last Updated ( Sunday, 11 May 2008 )
 
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