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