Homegrown theatre company, Wild Rice, opens the doors of its new 358-seat Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre to its first audience today
“Open your bag”—these will be the first words uttered by Janice Koh when Wild Rice opens the doors of its new home at the revamped Funan mall today. No, the veteran theatre actress is not conducting bag checks at the entrance. She will, however, take on the role of a no-nonsense daughter who hires a caregiver (played by Umi Kalthum Ismail) for her prickly retiree father (Patrick Teoh) in the restaging (and reimagined for the new stage) of the award-winning domestic drama, Supervision, by local playwright Thomas Lim.
Upon hearing these words, Wild Rice founding artistic director, Ivan Heng, and executive director, Tony Trickett, along with the team behind the purpose-built theatre, could probably heave a sigh of relief for it took eight attempts (and many missed chances with such locations as Capitol Theatre, Sculpture Square, and even St James Power House) before the homegrown theatre company finally found a home to call its own—and just in time for its 20th anniversary next year.
Three years in the making, Wild Rice @ Funan takes up 20,000sqft across three floors and comprises of the 358-seat Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, a 60-seat performance studio, as well as rehearsal rooms and the company’s administrative office. We take a closer look at the new home for Singapore theatre.