I've always regarded Kuala Lumpur as a home away from home. There is something about this city that connects me to my "Malaya-ness". Yet, in as much as I revel in the sameness of our shared history, culture, languages and stories, I am simultaneously aware of our differences. In my frequent trips to 'cuci mata' - literally, wash eyes - the city never fails to inspire because it gives me a new appreciation of who I am and the place I come from.
My dear friend, the late, great Krishen Jit waxed lyrical about the joy and satisfaction he felt when working on Eleanor Wong's Riding the Nice Bus. It was his way of expressing his feelings about Singapore, a tribute as it were, to his home away from home. Rehearsing its revival with five of KL's best actors performing our literature was a delightful and profound experience. Thank you Anne, Edwin, How Ngean, Vernon, and Suki. I am thrilled to welcome you to Singapore, and to realise Krishen's cherished dream of Riding The Nice Bus home.
In creating Tikam-Tikam, the companion piece to Nice Bus, I wanted to work with a Malaysian playwright who could mirror the passion, rootedness, and insightfulness of Eleanor Wong. In Leow Puay Tin, I found a match. I had long been fascinated with her and Krishen's experiments with chance and time in performance. I am grateful to Gani, Jonathan, Karen, Swee Lin, and Yu-Beng for their creations and for taking the plunge. In creating our game of Tikam-Tikam, we felt this would give a truer picture of the KL kaleidoscope. It is our hope that these one-off performances, created with an audience in a shared space and time, will inspire, challenge and entertain.
We are greatly indebted to the writers, the source from whom everything flows. We have been richly rewarded in trying to understand and make senses of the contexts in which you were (are) writing and imagining the audiences you write for.
Rehearsals with the 10 wonderful actors have been rigorous, playful and driven by a desire to get inside the words, to take pleasure in their sounds and textures, and to bring them to life. Together with a creative team comprising Chris Yap, Tony Kam and Teo Kuang Han, and a production team led by Pierre-André Salim, we availed ourselves to the resources that only the theatre can provide in creating a shared experience.
I would like to thank National Arts Council, Lee Foundation, Arts Fund, Singapore Writers Festival, The Literary Centre, Traders Hotel, and Phish Communications for making this possible. Thank you Fraser Service Residences for your support of W!LD RICE. Thank you Marion and Five Arts Centre for providing a KL home for this project. Thank you, Madeleine for the idea and for championing it.
This is for Krishen Jit.
Thank you for coming.
– Ivan Heng (Artistic Director, W!LD RICE)
