Theatre invades NTU

By Claudia Tan 

As the lecture drew to an end, you could hear pens clicking, chairs shifting. The students got more fidgety with each passing minute. After all, the only thing that stood between them and lunch was the last 15 minutes of the Economics lecture at the Hive.

Just when it seemed like the slides on monopolies would go on indefinitely, the projector screen changed abruptly. “Standby for invasion”, it flashed in bold, black letters.

Putting the theatre in lecture theatre, FYP group Theatre Invasion Singapore has been invading lectures in NTU to promote local theatre to students. PHOTO: ZHENG JUN CEN

The students looked around, murmuring to one another.

Right on cue, a middle-aged lady in a blazer over her dress, tottered on high heels into the lecture theatre, and sat by a desk facing the students. “Miss Sarah, come in,” she said sternly, her voice reaching the very last rows of the theatre.

“Miss Sarah” and the lady were actresses from the Buds Theatre Company, present as part of a surprise live performance of a 10-minute excerpt from the local play ‘Don’t Kancheong, Kiasu & Kiasi’.

The performance was part of a Final Year Project (FYP) by Year Four Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information students Adeeb Fazah, Lydia Lim, Melody Ann Gibson and Teresa Zhou.

Calling themselves Theatre Invasion Singapore, the group had embarked on a series of “Theatre Invasions” across three lectures in NTU in the first two weeks of school, as part of their five-month long campaign to promote theatre.

The other two invasions were at the Lee Kong Chian lecture theatre and School of Biological Sciences.
“We decided to do something that bands all of us together,” said 23-year-old Zhou. “And we genuinely feel that there’s something people can gain from theatre.”

Nicholas Lee, 21, who was at the economic lecture, was pleasantly surprised. “It was quite ingenious of the FYP group to reach out to students like that,” the second-year School of Humanities and Social Sciences student said.

Since the performance was about education professionals discussing the grades of an underperforming student, second-year HSS student Natalie Chan found it relatable.

“I thought the content of the play was engaging,” Chan, 21, said. “It is pretty relevant to us students.”
Fellow second-year HSS student Dhiya Batrisyia, 21, said she would even consider actually watching the full play.

Theatre Invasion Singapore also partnered with The Finger Players, another local theatre company.

The two companies were convinced to go on board after the group members shared with them their aspirations of improving sentiments towards local theatre and fostering a theatre-going culture through their campaign.

The FYP group believes that theatre is a device to give voice to issues that may not surface on a day-to-day basis.

“There’s always something to learn,“ said 25-year-old Fazah, also the co-founder of an external theatre group, A Second Breakfast Company. “You just go inside the theatre and leave as someone with a bit more perspective.”

‘Don’t Kancheong, Kiasu & Kiasi’, for instance, uses theatre as a medium to help audiences recognise the need for an education system that does not limit a child’s potential.

Recognising the dedication and potential of the campaign, the National Youth Council (NYC) agreed to fund the FYP project with S$5000, a bump up from their usual S$3000.

With the extra funding from NYC, the group has plans to expand their project further. “We are currently looking at getting more actors to do more invasions in NTU and also pumping in more money into our giveaways,” said Lim, 23.

But certain barriers deter students from watching more theatre, explained Gibson. “They might find that theatre is too expensive, hard to relate to or exclusive,” the 22-year-old added.

Such a sentiment resonated with second-year HSS student Chan Kah May, 22, who watches theatre shows occasionally.

“Theatre is good, just that it’s usually expensive,” she said. “That’s my main concern.”

Many students, however, are unaware of the various affordable options for theatre shows out there.

“There are many student discounts available as more companies are choosing to engage students,” said Lim.
Looking forward, Theatre Invasion Singapore hopes to collaborate with the National Arts Council and take their invasions to schools beyond NTU.

“Although this campaign will only last till March, we definitely want it to live beyond our FYP,” said Gibson.