Wild Rice @ Funan — Local services in Singapore

It was such a fantastic experience for me at Wild Rice - Performance Art Theater today.

First, the theater is nice, clean, and well managed with extremely friendly staff, not to mention the unique architecture of the theater. It is located right in Funan center, 4th floor, quite easy to find. The stage is quite close to the audience so that you can even feel the movement of costumes and listen to the breath of the cast. You will be surrounded by the cast from four directions, which creates such a special interaction with the audience. The chair is quite comfortable, but I just wish the arm parts are a little bit higher ; )))))). Yet so far so good.

I was there to watch the latest show Tartuffe: The imposter. Luckily for me, I was one of the first audiences to witness this show. For those who have heard about Moliere as well as Tartuffe, this version will blow your mind with a few twists, compared to the original masterpiece. The cast - just perfecto - they are extremely talented. I can feel they put all of their efforts into this show. Well, it has been two years since they last stepped on the stage due to COVID. I remembered at the end of the show, the whole theater was lost in a gigantic wave of applause. I saw the cast crying, I believe they have been missing the stage so much. Hence, if you have a chance, please come and support them. TBH, you will have a good ROI when you invest your money on this show ; )))))))))))) I was so into the show that I did not take any picture for you guys. I only have one pic before the stage. But, it is better to see it by yourself, isn't it?

FYI, Tartuffe: the imposter runs from 7 April until the end of the month. The cast includes: Ivan Heng, Benjamin Chow, Pam Oei, Oon Shu An, Jo Tan, Shane Mardjuki, Brendon Fernandez, and Dennis Sofian.

P/S: I am not a staff there so if you need more information, you can visit Wild Rice's social media such as Facebook or Instagram. All the posts related to Tartuffe will be there for your reference. I will definitely watch the show againnnn. Who want to go with me?

P/S1: I just came back from the really really last show of Tartuffe. It was great as usual and even betterrrrrr. Hoping Tartuffe will be back next year so you guys can enjoy it.

Ref: (1) First picture: Wild...

Three Sundays ago, my parents and I attended an afternoon matinee of a Wild RICE musical play, a local award-winning theatre adaptation of George Orwell's classic novel Animal Farm which I studied in Secondary One at Victoria School and fondly recalled reading. It was a thoroughly absorbing and enjoyable watch. Our three complimentary tickets were issued to us by Wild RICE Angels, courtesy of their Gift of Theatre programme, which enables persons with disabilities and their caregivers to watch their shows free of charge up to a quota of seats allocated and designated specifically for the diverse special needs community in Singapore. In July, my carer, mother, and I attended the musical tribute concert, Don't Call Him Mr Mari Kita, performed by music teacher Julian Wong and his entourage, celebrating the life and music of national anthem composer and lyricist Pak Zubir Said, and I felt deeply moved by Julian's spell-binding performance. I've always been a theatre fan since I was a young child. Still, I have had very limited opportunities to attend such performances in the past due to the inaccessibility and lack of disability inclusion in the local arts scene. Hence, much credit must go to inclusive theatre advocates Dawn-joy Leong, and Nix Sang for actively pushing for universal access and design in the local theatre industry and Wild RICE admin executive Andrea Ee and founder and CEO Ivan Heng for facilitating the process toward theatre inclusion. Their heart and work to enable persons with disabilities to cultivate a taste for the arts have not gone unnoticed. They are especially extraordinary because they're a not-for-profit theatre company. In the future, I will advocate for and support their disability-inclusive activities and programmes in the best ways I can as I appreciate the favour and grace they...

The door experience at Wild Rice is quite terrible. I reached 5 min late for a production (which I admit is my mistake). My friend was already inside and had told me they had just started but the usher refused to let me in. At first, I was told the next entry would be in 20 minutes. 20 minutes later, it became another 10 minutes and still no sign of entry. It would have been better if the communication was upfront and considerate letting people know if it is even worthwhile to wait that long for a 1.5 hour long production. There was quite a bit of inconsistency because I could see some of the other ushers doing a decent job letting people enter for the concurrent shows. Definitely left a bad taste!

Update: appreciate the response to my feedback, but my issue was with the poor communication at the door. I totally understand the need to be respectful to other audience members and the actors. However, if the usher had just explained the process of letting in people during suitable cues, it would have made a world of difference to the visitor experience. Additionally, I left the premises and returned before the 20 minute period I was indicated up. And I still had to wait. What would have been helpful was to 1) be clearly told the process for late entry and the rationale behind it 2) get a more accurate time range for when it would happen, including the fact that it is an estimate and might change (which is why it is better to wait on premises). None of that was done. Dive itself was a great production and kudos to the actors. However, the feedback for working on better consistent communication for Wild Rice staff...