One Show concept will tell the Singapore story through song and dance
By
Nicholas Yong & Corrie Tan
Simone Tan, four, is the youngest participant at this year's National Day Parade and Mr Francis Hogan, 73, is the oldest. -- ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
MR FRANCIS Hogan, 73, has a special part to play among the almost 6,000 participants in this year's National Day Parade (NDP). Not only will the retiree be the oldest performer on stage, but he will also be singing an old favourite - Rasa Sayang - in his role as a Peranakan matriarch.
It is an integral part of Chapter Four (The First Wave) of the One Show concept, which tells the story of the earliest immigrants to Singapore through song and dance.
While Mr Hogan has reprised this female role many times, this will be his biggest audience ever.
'This is the first time I have felt nervous about performing, as it is a much bigger audience. But I am getting used to it. And the Malay participants are especially kind to me, they always call me Bibik (old woman),' laughs Mr Hogan, who began acting more than four decades ago.
By coincidence, he is performing together with the parade's youngest participant - four-year-old Simone Tan, who has already earned the nickname 'baby nonya' from her fellow performers.
She is the youngest of three generations in a Peranakan family of five that will be making their debut performance at the NDP.
Organisers are hoping that music will be the one common thread which will get Singaporeans, young or old, on their feet.
The soundtrack for NDP 2009, christened The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, incorporates songs from the different eras and speeches of iconic significance. The music, which will play a key role in Chapter Five (Fast Forward), includes songs as diverse as Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Bengawan Solo and Madonna's Material Girl.
NDP music director, Dr Sydney Tan, said the aim was to put together 'a montage that flowed through the decades' that would evoke nostalgia and a sense of the progress that the nation has made.
'Songs bring out memories, they spell out the good times and the bad times. Every single lyric has been specially chosen, so that it all tells a great story,' added creative director Ivan Heng.
Please read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times
