Wednesday 30 May 2012

Lan Fang Chronicles, Thu 31 May - Sat 2 Jun

Co-organiser and frequent host of the SPORE Art Salon Ng Yi-Sheng is having his work featured in a Singapore Arts Festival show called Lan Fang Chronicles. This coming weekend is your last chance to catch it:


Director: Choy Ka Fai
Date: Fri 18 May-Sun 2 Jun, 7pm (3:30pm matinees on selected dates)
Venue: Ying Foh Kuan (Shuang Long Shan) 9 Commonwealth Lane, Singapore 149551
Tickets: $25 from Sistic


The Lan Fang Republic was the first democratic state in Southeast Asia. It began as an independent settlement of Hakka Chinese gold miners in Western Borneo, and it lasted from 1777 until 1884. Its multiracial capitalist history bears more than a few similarities to Singapore's.


This performance, taking place on the grounds of a Hakka Clan Association, uses both historical fact and fiction to bring this forgotten civilisation to life. Directed by multimedia artist Choy Ka Fai, it also features Singapore playwrights Zizi Azah, Robin Loon, Ng Yi-Sheng and Yak Aik-Wee, as well as actors Pat Toh, Najib Soiman, Rizman Putra, Yak Aik-Wee, Bright Ong, Serene Chen and Nora Samosir.



“If history could be taught this way, a lot more people would be interested in their local history. …By approaching Lan Fang as an artist and reconstructing knowledge out of memoirs, records, interviews and suppositions, he [Choy Ka Fai] encourages us to imagine, thus bringing to life what he calls the Chronicles of Disappearance, of the Lan Fang’s Republic’s history.” Cheah Ui-Hoon, Business Times, 22 May 2012.

Here's a Vimeo preview, a YouTube documentary, and more info from Ka Fai's website.

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