Launch of Shakespeare Lives

His Excellency, Mr Scott Wightman
British High Commissioner to Singapore

Mr Roland Davies,
Director, British Council 

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. What more can you say about Shakespeare after the ambassador and the Director of the British Council? So to me it's a difficult task but I would just like to echo what the ambassador has said about, you know, how the universality of Shakespeare's works, that is actually about the human condition, how is it that through his works, we're able to understand life's comedies and tragedies, our loves and our labours, our wills, our fates and so on.

2. And through his plays about humanity, that we share similar emotions. So regardless of whether you're from Singapore or whether you're from the Great Britain – I think there is similarity in emotions that Shakespeare has invoked in us regardless of ethnicity and nationality.   
   

Strong cultural relationship between Singapore and Great Britain

3. And this is really what art does – it bridges us. And I am proud of the strong friendship we have between Great Britain and Singapore. This is forged through our historical linkages and cultural exchanges over the decades. For instance in 2014, our Singapore Symphony Orchestra played at the BBC Proms in London and the London Symphony Orchestra played here at the Esplanade.

4. Collections from the British Museum are currently on display at our National Museum. And with this very strong working relationship between our National Arts Council and the British Council, I believe we can see even more colourful and cultural exchanges between our two countries. I am quite certain it's a relationship that will grow even stronger with time.

Shakespeare is a part of Singapore's multicultural landscape

5. Having said that, that's probably where the similarity ends. We have our own interpretation, Ambassador and Director, of Shakespeare. I would like to share several with you. As you know we have multiculturalism, Singapore values and characteristics and we have a few of how we've interpreted Shakespeare's works quite differently.

6. So, for example, TheatreWork's Ong Keng Sen is well-known for his many Shakespeare-inspired works including Lear, Desdemona and Search: Hamlet. In these works, he taps on Asian art-forms such as Japanese Noh Theatre, Beijing Opera, and dances from Thailand and Indonesia.

7. Another artist, Najib Soiman presented Ma'ma Yong: About Nothing Much to Do, obviously it's a twist on Much Ado About Nothing. A multi-ethnic cast interpreted Shakespeare's famous work in Malay, Tamil, Mandarin and even Hokkien, which is a Chinese dialect. They did it through dance and music that were based on a blend of K-Pop and old Malay art forms like Mat Yong and dikir barat.

8. So, as you can see, Shakespeare has given us many ingredients, many nutrients and has brought together different art forms that's uniquely ours and I'm sure we enjoy many, many interpretations of his work. It's still germinating seeds in Singapore 400 years after his death.

9. And in two weeks, I will be watching the Singapore Repertory Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park presentation of Romeo and Juliet. The setting, set in the park obviously, will again, we'll look forward to see how we're going to update the staging of this very famous play by Shakespeare.

10. I understand that there was a creative writing competition held as part of the Shakespeare Lives activities. Writers were given the challenge of giving a Singapore twist to one of Shakespeare's themes or characters. I hope that this will encourage more Singaporeans to write, so that one day we will have even more Singapore literature to proudly share with the world.
    

Conclusion

12. Before I end, I'd just like to share my favourite quote from Shakespeare. I don't profess to be a fan of Shakespeare. I have very limited exposure to Shakespeare but I always find this quote to be most relevant to me, it has this unique ability, duality that is able to…at the same time to keep me very grounded when I'm feeling jubilant or being carried away. And at the same time uplifting and supporting me when I'm feeling discouraged and despondent. And this is from As You Like It and here it goes:

    All the world's a stage, 
    And all the men and women merely players; 
    'They have their exits and their entrances, 
    And one man in his time plays many parts.'

13. I would just want to share this with everyone here, who could see yourself as part of a stage of Singapore, and as you can see this play playing out for the next 50 years of Singapore to SG100, find a meaningful role, create your own role and you can play when you're entering this stage and at the same time you can choose many parts that hopefully would leave an impact to those around you before you exit.         

14. So thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.