SINGAPORE: At 56 years old, actor and theatre veteran Adrian Pang has realised that optimism is a choice.“When the pandemic hit, I thought I was going to be okay. But very quickly, I took a turn for the worse and before I could even scramble around for my life vest, I found myself drowning. I was drowning really quickly,” he recounted to CNA.
But Mr Pang, drawing parallels between Singapore’s battle with the coronavirus and his own fight against depression during the pandemic, found the parade theme"Stronger Together, Majulah!" resonating with his own struggles. His theatre company is known for “telling stories that are not just for entertainment value”, he said. “We hope to make you think and feel and talk and debate and, you know, get angry. So I’ve been told not to make people angry.”
“So now, being in a position where I’m very aware that you’re creating an experience for the whole nation … it's having to approach that with a different mindset. You just have to be very cognisant and make sure as many people are taken care of as possible.” “The point is just giving artistic freedom to these creatives as well as respecting their work and trying to align everybody's individual visions into one coherent beast. That's been a huge challenge.”“It’s been a lesson in listening, a lesson in trying not to swear so much. That one I’m still learning and failing. Especially not into the microphone at The Float to rally the troops,” he said, laughing.
“We can only hope that most people enjoy most of the courses, if not all. Chances are there will be people who are not crazy about a certain course, or even a certain ingredient or a certain serving plate … but hopefully everyone comes out of the meal feeling that they’ve had a satisfying meal that is nourishment for the heart, soul and mind,” he further told CNA in a text message.
“And so, a lot of the live performances would be painting broad brushstrokes of images and putting across a feeling or an idea that hopefully is clear and resonant enough for people to go, ‘Ah I see, this particular performance is all about resilience’ that kind of thing.”