Nine Years Theatre’s Lear Is Dead 李尔亡: An Interview with Nelson Chia and Timothy Wan

There is more than a passing similarity to Shakespeare’s King Lear and a certain recently deceased leader from our very own country. Besides being former heads of a nation and possessing three children, Lear, when translated to Mandarin, also happens to begin with the Chinese character 李, or ‘Lee’. Appropriately enough then, for their very first Shakespeare adaptation, local Mandarin theatre company Nine Years Theatre … Continue reading Nine Years Theatre’s Lear Is Dead 李尔亡: An Interview with Nelson Chia and Timothy Wan

Preview: Lear Is Dead (李尔亡) by Nine Years Theatre

“We used to think power is our life’s goal, forgetting that wisdom is what our lives are founded upon.” Following their reimagination of Strindberg’s Miss Julie earlier this year, Nine Years Theatre will present their third and final production of the season with another reimagination of a theatre classic: Shakespeare’s King Lear. For Nine Years Theatre, while no stranger to adapting classic works into Mandarin, Lear … Continue reading Preview: Lear Is Dead (李尔亡) by Nine Years Theatre

Review: Pissed Julie (茱莉小解) by Nine Years Theatre

Strindberg’s classic is re-appropriated to complicate issues of identity and the mutability of class in this new adaptation. In watching Nelson Chia’s adaptation of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, there’s a scene from late animator Satoshi Kon’s film Paprika that came to mind: in the opening sequence, we see the title character’s reflection split across multiple mirrors, each displaying a different expression. In a similar way, Nelson has made the unusual choice … Continue reading Review: Pissed Julie (茱莉小解) by Nine Years Theatre

Preview: Pissed Julie (茱莉小解) by Nine Years Theatre

Fresh from a successful premiere at the 2018 Macau Arts Festival, Nine Years Theatre (NYT) is flying back to Singapore to present their newest production Pissed Julie.  Initially proposed by artistic director Nelson Chia as an interesting project to embark on with Macau and performed in both cities, Pissed Julie went from a festival commissioned play featuring Macanese actors directed by Nelson, to an all new co-production between … Continue reading Preview: Pissed Julie (茱莉小解) by Nine Years Theatre