IVAN HENG

FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF WILD RICE

“There’s nothing like a full house at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre. There are no walls between performer and audience, and audience members can see and hear one another. The applause and standing ovations are quite overwhelming. Our goal will always be to have artists and audiences gather in the same space to share the stories we need to tell, and the stories we need to hear.

Nothing can replicate live theatre. But when we went into circuit breaker [mode], we embraced technology so as to continue to entertain, uplift and engage our audiences. We started screening recordings of our past shows and organised digital talkbacks. We even experimented with technology with The Rice Ball, our annual fundraising extravaganza, which was nothing short of a televised live gala event.

At the same time, we incubated new projects and focused on training the theatre-makers of tomorrow. We have an exciting season of works-in-progress that we will be presenting now that theatres have been allowed to reopen. These shows have already sold out— indicating that audiences are ready to support new voices and stories.”