Seen.By.Ice.Queen: coming to my senses

I truly applaud SRT in their 'workaholism'. Just within the first quarter of 2009, they are presenting 3 shows!

And thanks to SRT, it appears that hunk-a-dory Ethan Hawke will be visiting our sunny shores soon!

The Bridge Project is a major new trans-Atlantic venture for director Sam Mendes (Academy Award winner for American Beauty), Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and The Old Vic in London, which is run by Kevin Spacey (Academy Award winner for The Usual Suspects and American Beauty).

Sam Mendes will direct The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare in 2009 starring Simon Russell Beale, Sinead Cusack and Rebecca Hall from the UK; and Richard Easton, Josh Hamilton and Ethan Hawke from the US.

Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is proud to be one of the five co-commissioners of The Bridge Project, which involved investing seed money in the creation of what will arguably be the most prestigious global theatrical event in 2009.

Singapore will be the first – and only Asian stop – on the world-tour in March 2009. SRT will present the Singapore leg in collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.

Over the past 15 years, SRT has produced high quality theatre in Singapore with a very international edge, benchmarking itself against the best. A testament to its investment in and commitment to quality is a very loyal and rapidly growing audience-base in Singapore. SRT’s strategy of working with the best stage talent from around the world fuels its mission of created a name for itself, and for Singapore, as a leading arts capital. The end-goal is to build a relationship with international producers who will then help tour original Singaporean plays and musicals.

SRT entered a very successful partnership in 2007’s with the Royal Shakespeare Company by presenting their productions of King Lear and The Seagull, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn and starring Sir Ian McKellen which. Singapore’s involvement in The Bridge Project is a direct result of the success of the RSC project.

“It is a major coup for Singapore to be the first stop (and only Asian destination) on this international tour of what is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This will be the most important theatrical event anywhere in the world in 2009. To have Singapore Repertory Theatre listed as one of the co-commissioners on every poster and newspaper ad around the world is incredible,” says Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Artistic Director Gaurav Kripalani.

Commented JP Nathan, Director of Programming, The Esplanade Co Ltd: “We are very pleased to be working in collaboration with SRT again. Last year’s collaboration on the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of King Lear gave SRT valuable exposure in managing productions of such a scale. Working together allows Esplanade to help local companies like SRT shoulder the risks of presenting large productions while deepening their expertise in managing such works to place them more firmly as credible and trustworthy players in the international arts market. Just as we did for the Asian leg of the RSC production, Esplanade will also be lending its technical expertise to the project by overseeing the construction of the sets which will be used for the Singapore and New Zealand productions of The Winter’s Tale. Having the sets built in the region will not only make economic sense but will also help train up local expertise in the area. We look forward to more of such collaborations and knowledge sharing in the future.’

Ticket information
DATES: 26^th to 31^st March 2009
Thursday to Tuesday 8pm/ 3pm matinee Sat, Sun and Tuesday
PRICES: From $40 to $325
VENUE: Esplanade Theatre
TICKETING: SISTIC at 6348 5555 or www.sistic.com.sg
WEBSITE: www.srt.com.sg