The CEO of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay reveals what lies ahead for the national performing arts centre as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year
Literature has been a great influence on Yvonne Tham throughout her life. “Books, novels and fiction give us a glimpse into someone else’s life—and that has always taught me empathy and the ability to walk in someone else’s shoes,” says the CEO of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Taking in the perspective of others is surely one of the values that is imperative to instilling the “arts for everyone” vision within Singapore’s national performing arts centre, as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
“Esplanade has kept its vision for 20 years. To be an arts centre for everyone, it would take generations, [as well as] for the arts to become part of who you are as a country and a society,” says Tham, who took the helm about four years ago since joining the company in 2014. In the first 10 years since the arts centre opened in 2002, the vision was expressed through the introduction of diverse programmes to bring in people of different backgrounds. The annual cultural festivals: Kalaa Utsavam, Pesta Raya and Huayi, the Indian, Malay and Chinese festival of arts, respectively, were introduced to galvanise each ethnic community through the arts during festive occasions.
The centre later introduced various key festivals and programme series targeted at various demographics and interests. For example, for those who love dance, there is the da:ns festival, while those who love indie music, there is Baybeats. “And then for the next 10 years, we focused on the underserved and vulnerable communities, including children, families and seniors,” says Tham, who recalls receiving a handwritten note from a woman in her 90s telling her how she had enjoyed the monthly Coffee Morning & Afternoon Tea concert series, which pays tribute to evergreen music.
Tham wrote back and they spoke on the phone, eventually meeting in person a couple of times before she passed on. “I asked her why she loved coming to the centre and she said she comes to listen to the music of her youth. When she was in the concert hall, she would sometimes stand up and dance,” shares Tham. “That’s the power of the arts, it never leaves you.”
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Every year, Esplanade presents a line-up of about 3,000 performances across dance, music, theatre, visual arts and more, of which about 70 per cent are free. The centre has also been relentless in making sure that the arts is accessible and inclusive to diverse communities.
This October, it introduced a series of new accessibility features for patrons of all ages and abilities. For example, the pilot Relaxed Environment performances allow audience members to make a noise, and come and go as they please during a performance—and this could be beneficial to those with such conditions as being on the autism spectrum, anxiety, and dementia. Considerations have also been made in the design of the recently opened Singtel Waterfront Theatre to support persons with disabilities including wheelchair users and, where feasible and appropriate, captioning, sign language interpretation, assistive listening and more, will be provided for performances.
The much-awaited mid-sized theatre along the Esplanade waterfront has a capacity of 550, and is semi-flexible in both stage and seating layout. “When the Esplanade was first designed, there were plans for a theatre, a concert hall, studios, as well as rehearsal and commercial spaces to be built in Phase 1, with medium-sized theatres—comparable to the size of Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall and Drama Centre [with a capacity from 500 to 1,000]—to be built in Phase 2,” says Tham. But the Phase 2 plans were postponed indefinitely due to budget considerations.
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“Many local artists have been making work in our small studios. I would say they have outgrown them, but it would be a stretch to conceive works for the big theatre, in terms of the scale and intimacy between the work and the audience,” shares Tham. The new Singtel Waterfront Theatre marks the next stage of Esplanade’s development, addressing not only its expanding audience numbers but also growing artistic needs. To mark the opening, Esplanade commissioned a series of works featuring collaborations between Singapore and regional artists, presented from October to December.
Throughout its 20-year journey, Esplanade has also supported the creation of artistic content by commissioning and producing new Singapore and Asian work for the international stage. In the past year, the centre supported the creation of 220 new works, about 50 per cent more as compared to the previous year, and involving 358 Singapore artists in its developmental programmes, about 90 per cent more than last year.
The centre also launched the inaugural Contemporary Performing Arts Research Residency earlier this year, with support from the National Arts Council, to encourage creative research in the performing arts, providing artists the time and space for interdisciplinary and transcultural dialogues.
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