Within Singapore, it’s not often a production receives a re-staging within the span of a few years, let alone a large-scale one that involves a massive team, multiple venues and an impossible amount of coordination. Yet, The Theatre Practice (Practice) has pulled it off, with the return of Four Horse Road this August.

First staged in 2018, there is a strange fuel that keeps the artists at Practice going, a stubborn drive to succeed that made them want to bring the five-star production back again, after the pandemic tragically cut short its would-be second run. With this third run, Four Horse Road finds itself a newer, even more improved version that builds on their 2020 version, and promises just as fantastic an experience as before, if not more so.

Helmed by director Kuo Jian Hong, with a script by Jonathan Lim, Four Horse Road is a love letter to Waterloo Street, where Practice’s home is located. Spanning over 150 years of the district’s past, audience members embark on a journey that will have them exploring multiple heritage buildings, taking them to various spaces where they’ll encounter brushes with historical figures who’ve left an indelible mark on the area. From a bus hijack incident, to a prison, prostitutes at a red light district to CHIJ students on a ghost hunt, this is local history as you’ve never seen it before.

Joined by assistant directors Ang Xiao Ting and Isabella Chiam, we spoke to director Kuo Jian Hong about the momentous decision to bring Four Horse Road back yet again, the labour of love that goes into theatre, and the evolution of theatre for both the company and audiences, starting with the changes that this show has undergone since 2020. “We take it that the 2020 edition happened in spirit, working as a marker, but not in terms of execution since we’d barely gotten started,” says Jian Hong. “There is this sense of responsibility to finish this show, and while financially it’s very demanding, there’s a sense of pride that goes into wanting that sense of completion and not letting all that work go to waste.”

“We’re not here trying to intentionally change it up for the sake of it, but returning to continue building it up, and fitting all these parts together once again. It’s still very much the same show, and everyone on board shares a collective vision that informs what we do and recognises the challenges that go into this show,” adds Jian Hong. “We’re all co-developers, whether we’ve worked on it together or looking at it with fresh eyes. It helps that whether we’ve worked on this show before or in other capacities, we develop an understanding of each other’s working styles, and now have this common vocabulary that we use when constructing and handling this work.”

Practice has had a relatively optimistic year so far, with a popular and well-received production of The Soldier and His Virtuous Wife back in April, alongside gaining popularity for their regular programming, such as Practice Tuckshop. If anything, Four Horse Road marks Practice returning to form. “It wasn’t easy selling tickets even before the pandemic, but we have to understand that people have a different relationship with theatre, and make decisions later than before,” says Jian Hong. “I don’t think it’s a case of ‘going back’ so much as doing things differently.”

While Xiao Ting and Isabella are assistant directors, they’ve both had experience working on Four Horse Road‘s previous editions, whether as assistant directors assigned to specific scenes or even performing. “The script still remains your base and guides you towards the end product, and while we do hope to leave our ‘mark’, we hope that is much more subtle and whatever we do ultimately serves the story authentically,” says Xiao Ting. “What’s interesting is how new team members bring their own energy to their roles, and characters and stories make those subtle shifts within the boundaries of the script.”

“As artists, we are learning and evolving as we engage in the process of creation, understanding our own craft and what we bring to the table, from how we approach the script to say, how I want to bring a more ‘ecological’ approach to my work,” Xiao Ting adds. “In making theatre more sustainable for example, we try not to cut up whole lengths of cloth since that would make it less reusable for future productions, or even in how we’re using the pre-existing building space and architecture to enhance the story rather than creating something new. It’s really about being more conscious of our goals and incorporating them into our work.”

“I’m directing the same two scenes as before, as I still am performing in two other scenes, and it’s about as much as I can handle,” says Isabella. “A lot has changed in the last two years in terms of my personal practice, and understanding of art because I also teach, which then informs my directing practice. I do think that my perspective has grown and evolved since 2020, and am now more confident when it comes to crafting a space for actors to play and explore after doing some self-reflecting. It does test one’s stamina, but that’s why you have to find these patterns and rituals that help you do your best, and I’m glad we all have each other’s back and support.”

Where then does inspiration come from, if there are so many limits and restrictions, in terms of essentially restaging a production? “Everything in theatre is collaborative to achieve the shared vision, so like for Xiao TIng’s sustainability angle, we do try to re-use old sets from the last production, or even adapting certain props in lieu of buying new ones for better conservation,” says Jian Hong. “Even for Chen Szu-Feng, our new set designer, has to figure out what her creative space is since Four Horse Road has already established such a tight arrangement of scenes and scheduling, and that means she ends up going back to the script and seeing where she can input her own creative ideas or respond to what we want to achieve.”

“Practice, by nature, comprises a group of curious people who aren’t just idly sitting by, but considering how the world is changing. We look at trends, say what themes or things people are discussing on the street, or how viewing habits are changing with TikTok, where attention spans are shortening, and we similarly need to do more episodic work,” she continues. “It is in considering these changes that affects the way we creatively present our show. Take for example how Four Horse Road doesn’t use surtitles, and we’re still trying it out to see if we can break that dependency, and rely on others translating for each other instead.”

“So much like how Netflix has developed this habit of binge-watching, Four Horse Road also limits each scene to about 10 minutes, which allows for the pace of the show to be quite fast and for it to keep moving, or how we ensure audience members are never forced to interact, which can be something that’s daunting for a lot of Singaporeans,” adds Xiao Ting. “Ultimately, our space does allow for creative solutions, whether you’re an actor, a designer or even the stage manager, who will be adopting a system of monitoring what’s going on we tried out during the pandemic.”

Which leads us once again to the collaborative environment at Practice, encouraging an openness in communication and willingness to share criticism from a place of care. “We do check in with each other and check up with what everyone is doing at some point, so we have this environment where both formal check-ins and informal conversations happen, and we can be honest and push each other to grow in a healthy way,” says Isabella.

“There is a kind of vulnerability in being an artist, where we know how difficult things can get and yet we still do it. There is an intensity with which we have discussions and push our visions forward, and with so many links both locally and internationally, it is important to still touch base with various people to keep up with what’s going on, especially within the company itself,” says Jian Hong.

As for the support they receive, Jian Hong acknowledges the back and forth relationship Practice has with their audiences and longtime supporters, helping each other make the most of their experience. “Some people come to see a show because they’re interested in the show, while some people do it because they enjoy supporting the arts. Maybe they do see value in what we do, either in and of itself or beneficial to them, or they may not understand what we do, and some just come along and hope it’s a good show, and all of that is fine,” says Jian Hong. “It’s really just about building up a love for theatre and a habit, and the more good experiences one has, the more everyone in the industry benefits. And what’s important to us in the way we program is to reach out to multiple kinds of audiences, which is why we have so much variation, whether The Soldier and His Virtuous Wife or our younger audience programming.”

“There are so many considerations that go into each work. Our work in general tends to fulfil many purposes, from artistic development to resource development to audience development, the latter being our social responsibility to doing things like providing digital content targeted at families during the pandemic,” she adds.

“We have a personal stake and interest in ensuring that our work is grounded in good storytelling, and even though something like Four Horse Road can feel like a very foreign experience, where we stow your phone away and you don’t quite know what to expect, I think as theatremakers, it’s exciting we get to engage audiences and introduce them to something like this, and hear about these different stories from different eras,” says Isabella.

Whether it’s a pandemic, an unexpected fire, or simply getting the resources together to put on the show (Practice will also be holding a Fundraising Evening on 3rd August), there is something remarkable about their tenacity and drive to press on against all odds, a singular desire to put on a good show. “This drive to continue doing what we do doesn’t always come from a need to tell a story, but more of this love for working together and problem-solving together,” says Jian Hong. “The process is always fun, and the solution is often surprising. There is satisfaction in creating a memorable encounter with audiences where they come out happy, this experience that they hang on to. It’s this sense of community with both my collaborators and our audience that keeps us going, and the need to convince them over and over that we’re worth coming back to, that’s hard, but also such fun.”

“Our population’s relationship with art can always afford to become more integrated, and we have to keep striving to better that relationship rather than be bitter,” she concludes. “Whether we like it or not, theatre is localised, and we are constantly recalibrating and rediscovering what our relationship is like with the space and people around us. It ebbs and flows, it’s a constant process of reflection, and as an industry, we can always do better, not just in marketing but even in programming work that is relevant and forms a connection.”

Photo Credit: The Theatre Practice

Four Horse Road plays from 4th August to 3rd September 2023 at The Theatre Practice (54 Waterloo Street). Tickets available here

Practice will also be having a Fundraiser Evening on 3rd August 2023. Register here to support them

Production Credits:

Kuo Jian Hong | Director Ang Xiao Ting, Isabella Chiam | Assistant Directors

Jonathan Lim | Writer

Cast Al-Matin Yatim, Andrew J Mowatt, Ang Xiao Ting, Benjamin Koh, Cheryl Tan Yun Xin, CHIA, Ebi Shankara, Elisha Beston, Ella Wee, Elle Cheng Li Ling, Hang Qian Chou, Isabella Chiam, Izzul Irfan, Jodi Chan, Joel Tan, Justin Lee, Lynn Chia, Mandy Neo, Meryllyn-Faith Tan, Ng Mun Poh, Niklaus Chia, R Chandran, Seah Janice, Sonya Wong, Wendy Toh, Yeo Lyle

Chen Szu-Feng | Set Designer

Chan Lee Lee | Props Designer

Genevieve Peck | Lighting Designer

Sandra Tay | Sound Design

MAX.TAN | Costume Designer Ashley Lim | Hair Designer Bobbie Ng from The Make Up Room | Make Up Designer